Teddy Sandoval, Untitled, c. late 1970s–1980s. Mixed media and collage on paper, 11 x 8 1/2 in. (27.9 × 21.6 cm). Courtesy of Paul Polubinskas, Teddy Sandoval Estate.

CLOSING RECEPTION
Saturday, March 2, 2024, 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM

Experience Teddy Sandoval and the Butch Gardens School of Art through the eyes of several artists and community members. An intergenerational roster of speakers will discuss their connections to Sandoval and other artists in the exhibition, and how the themes of the exhibition resonate with their own practices. Afterward, join us in the Museum Foyer as we celebrate with drinks, refreshments, and DJ sets using Sandoval’s very own original vinyl collection of disco and related dance music. This event will be the final opportunity to view the exhibition.

Event Schedule

• 1:00 PM – 1:15 PM
  Welcome and Introductions
• 1:15 PM – 2:30 PM
  Exhibition Walkthrough with reflections by Alex Donis, Consuelo G. Flores, Raquel Gutiérrez, and Daniel Arthur Mendoza.
• 2:30 PM – 4:00 PM
  Closing Reception with DJ sets by Blackmuseumist and DJ Inquieto featuring vinyl from Teddy Sandoval's original collection. Beer, wine, and light refreshments will be provided.

Panelist Bios

Alex Donis (b. 1964, Chicago) is a Los Angeles-based artist whose work examines and redefines the boundaries set within religion, politics, race, and sexuality. Interested in toppling societies’ conventional attitudes, his work is often influenced by a tri-cultural (pop, Latino, and queer) experience. He has worked extensively in a variety of media including painting, installation, photography, video, and works on paper. Donis has exhibited internationally and is part of several museum collections, including the Blanton Museum of Art, LACMA, San Diego Museum of Art, and the Vincent Price Art Museum at East Los Angeles College. He received degrees from California State University, Long Beach and Otis College of Art & Design.

Consuelo G. Flores is a renowned Altarista and Culture Bearer born and raised in East Los Angeles. She is a Council Member of the Eastside Arts Initiative, a grant-making program of LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes supporting arts initiatives and programming in eastern Los Angeles County. She is an Adjunct Professor at Antioch University teaching about Chicano art and history, Mexican American cultural celebrations, and the traditional and contemporary celebration of Dia de los Muertos. She has created Day of the Dead altars at Gloria Molina Grand Park since 2012 and has curated the altar installations there in 2022 and 2023. Flores is also a published poet and playwright working with Fierce Backbone Theater Company and Addison, Campbell, Flores, Goyan, King & Wong poetry collective. She has a BA in Liberal Studies and an MFA in Creative Non-Fiction Writing from Antioch University, Los Angeles.

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Raquel Gutiérrez is a critic, essayist, poet, performer, and educator. Gutiérrez's first book Brown Neon (Coffee House Press) was named as one of the Best Books of 2022 by The New Yorker and listed in The Best Art Books of 2022 by Hyperallergic. Brown Neon won The Judy Grahn Award for Lesbian Nonfiction and was a finalist for numerous awards, including the Lambda Literary Prize for Best Lesbian Biography/Memoir and the Firecracker Award in Creative Nonfiction. A 2021 recipient of the Rabkin Prize in Arts Journalism, as well as a 2017 recipient of the The Andy Warhol Foundation Arts Writers Grant, Gutiérrez currently serves the inaugural Writer-in-Residence at Whittier College. Gutiérrez is also a catalog essay contributor for Teddy Sandoval and the Butch Gardens School of Art (Inventory Press, forthcoming 2024).

Daniel Arthur Mendoza (b. 1989, Sacramento) is an artist whose work made from cut and sewn secondhand fabrics and drawings celebrate queer history, joy, and friendship and its historical veiled-ness within the confines of daily life. Exploring themes of intimacy, repression, and refusal, Mendoza's work reveals a longing to rediscover the past, confront the weight of patriarchal visual propaganda, and open oneself to potential, soft, hopeful futures. His work has most recently been exhibited at The Mistake Room, Human Resources Los Angeles, Southern Exposure (San Francisco, CA), Hawthorn Contemporary (Milwaukee, WI), and Rivalry Projects (Buffalo, NY). He received a BA in Studio Art from UC Davis and MFA from UC Riverside. He currently lives and works in San Francisco.