An exhibition will take place that will timeline (through ephemera such as flyers, shirts, records, tapes, video and audio) the history of Latino / Chicano Punk that manifested itself in the Pilsen / Little Village neighborhoods of Chicago. This scene which consisted of musicians, artists, activists, and neighborhood youth who were experiencing anti immigrant sentiments, gentrification, gang violence and overall negligence from institutions that run the city along with other social ills. Out of the frustration surrounding this life, art and music happened rather than violence. This is a community that informed itself, took action, and created alternatives with little resources.
Bands such as Los Crudos, Youth Against, Arma Contra Arma, Condenada, Sin Orden, Tras de Nada, Non Fiktion Nois, No Slogan, Eskeletos, Intifada, Niños Heroes, 30/30, Ultratumbados, Descarados, Los Jodidos, Pkdores, I Attack, Reaccion, Rumores, La Armada, Konstrukt, Haka, Bosque, Tensions, Insurgencia, Escalofrio, Sangre de Abajo, Sospechosos, Lechuza, Casa Blanca, Kuujaat, Bruised and Sonido Inquieto provided the soundtrack for desperate times. Self produced records by Lengua Armada as well as the Southkore label, the formation of collectives such as Unidad de Jovenes Latinos and Black and Brown and independent publications Hasta Cuando, Silencio, and Conexion Rockera, along with many other artists and individuals that played an important part in the documentation of what became the scene. An exhibition of visual arts will include Hector Duarte, Juan Compean, Ricardo Compean, David Naylan Jimenez, Lupe Garza, Miguel Cortez, Magdalena Rodriguez, Nuco Villanueva, Elvia Rodriguez Ochoa, Gerardo Villareal and others.

OPENING NIGHT (Day 1): We will open an exhibition that presents a timeline of punk on Chicago’s South Side and in the predominantly Latino neighborhoods of Pilsen and Little Village. The exhibit will highlight ephemera, art, photography, and audio/video that were created in the late eighties through the present and will be on display from Friday, Sep. 30th until Saturday, Oct. 8th.

ART FAIR (Day 2): This will be a day for artists active in the community to table and sell their work or simply show work to the public. This will be an amazing opportunity for local and emerging artists to make their work more visible and for the public to see work they might not otherwise have the opportunity to.

FILM/PANEL (Day 3): We will have a panel discussion with members of the local punk scene, including members of Los Crudos. There will be a video screening of outtakes from the documentary “Mas Alla De Los Gritos – A Latino/Chicano Punk Documentary” and hopefully other archival footage of bands that came out of the local scene.

GALLERY HOURS (Day 4): The exhibit will be open for viewing during gallery hours.

GALLERY HOURS (Day 5): The exhibit will be open for viewing during gallery hours.

GALLERY HOURS (Day 6): The exhibit will be open for viewing during gallery hours.

LITERARY NIGHT (Day 7): On this night we will focus on literature including both Alice Bag of Los Angeles’s seminal punk band The Bags and Michelle Gonzales (“Todd”) from Bay Area band Spitboy reading from their books. Sharing the night with the two authors will be local artist Isaac Gomez.

PUNK ARTIST PANEL (Day 8): We will have some local Chicago artists talking about their work within the punk scene and beyond. Participants will include Lupe Garza a.k.a. Gordo, Ricardo Compean, and more TBA.

QUEER ART PANEL/CLOSING PARTY (Day 9): We have invited a number of out-of-town artists for this event to talk about their work, including David Zamora Casas (San Antonio), Cristy C. Road (New York), Dorian Wood (Los Angeles), and more TBA. Following the panel, there will be a party to formally end the exhibition.

The entire series of events will be free to the public so we are asking for support to make this event possible. We will need to cover travel and accommodations for all the artists who are coming from out of state. We would also like to provide stipends to all the artists and speakers. The gallery space has fees that we need to cover and we will be printing a special exhibition booklet that will be given free of charge to all attendees and will mirror the exhibition so that visitors can take this experience with them.

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Tags: Bridgeport, Chicago, Co-Prosperity Sphere, David Naylan Jimenez, Desafinados, Elvia Rodriguez Ochoa, Gerardo Villareal, Hector Duarte, Juan Compean, Lupe Garza, Magdalena Rodriguez, Miguel Cortez, Nuco Villanueva, Ricardo Compean