Overview

On August 29th, 1970, an estimated 30,000 Chicanas and Chicanos from across the United States gathered in East Los Angeles in a show of cultural and political unity, to stage a march and rally in opposition to the Vietnam War. What began as a peaceful protest meant to call attention to the disproportionate number of Chicano soldiers then dying on the battlefields of Southeast Asia, ultimately ended amidst a similar type of “war zone” environment when local law enforcement agencies unjustly converged on the demonstrators. Their actions incited numerous acts of violence in the form of arrests, injuries, and three deaths, including that of Los Angeles Times journalist Ruben Salazar. Known as the Chicano Moratorium, it is a seminal event not only in the history of the Chicano civil rights movement, but within the larger history of American social protest as well.

After The Gold Rush: Reflections and Postscripts on the National Chicano Moratorium of August 29th, 1970 is an exhibition that will look at this watershed moment through the eyes of a cross-generational group of artists working in a variety of media, not only from the fine arts, but also from the performance, music, and writing communities.

The exhibition will utilize the events of that day, the cultural and political climate from which they manifested, and the Chicano Movement as a whole to investigate larger notions of cultural identity as they related to social commentary and political protest during that era. The show will also consider how these same ideas commingle and function in today’s society, within newfound yet altogether similar issues.