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Briar Rosa’s “Queen III” in the "Centered in Ink Exhibition." | Photo courtesy of the Ontario Museum of History & Art
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The Ontario Museum of History & Art presents two exhibitions that portray community issues and cultural stories. “Mission Gráfica: Reflecting a Community in Print” and “Centered in Ink: Printmaking in the Inland Empire” will open concurrently on Thursday, Jan. 9 and will run through March 9.
A community reception will be held on Saturday from 2 to 4 p.m., with light refreshments and a chance to meet the artists from Centered in Ink. Additionally, OMHA will host an artist talk with featured artists from the exhibitions on Feb. 1 from 2 to 3 p.m.
“Mission Gráfica: Reflecting a Community in Print” is a touring exhibition developed in partnership with the San Francisco Public Library that features dozens of screenprints from Mission Gráfica, a community print center of diversity and cultural ferment in San Francisco. Founded in 1982 as part of the Mission Cultural Center, Mission Gráfica became the most sought-after political poster center in the Bay Area in the 1980s. Designed to capture attention on the street, the posters urged political action as well as celebrated culture and life.
This exhibition reflects a variety of styles, approaches and sensibilities from nonprofessional and emerging artists to well-known figures such as Carmen Lomas Garza, Nancy Hom, Rupert Garcia, Mildred Howard, Jean La Marr, Ester Hernandez, Michael Roman and the San Francisco Print Collective. It will explore themes of U.S. Imperialism, gender inequality and women’s empowerment, cultural celebrations, Indigenous America and more — many of which continue to resonate today.
Its companion exhibition, “Centered in Ink: Printmaking in the Inland Empire,” will showcase a diverse array of printmakers and screen printers of the region who employ their artistic skills to address pressing community issues and ignite conversations that resound with viewers. Using their printmaking practices to create powerful visual statements, the artists delve into thought-provoking themes such as identity, activism and environmental awareness. Participating artists include Briar Rosa, Adam Aguilar, L.Akinyi, Micah Amaro, BA Soul, Kenia Cruz, Cesar Garcia, Jorge Heredia, Duan Kellum, Stephanie Lagos, Eduardo Raul Muñoz-Villagaña, Erick Revollo-Paz and Sarah Vazquez.
Twenty-seven prints from Mission Gráfica and thirty artworks for Centered in Ink will be exhibited in the museum’s North Wing Galleries.
Samantha Herrera, exhibition curator, says by email that the two shows were purposefully meant to run together. “Centered in Ink was planned to pair with Mission Gráfica. With most of the traveling exhibits we host, we try to complement them with the Inland Empire’s fascinating history and exciting art communities.”
“We searched in our local art community for a similar group of printmakers working together at a local art center who were producing artwork with a socially conscious theme and providing an outlet for creativity to the community at large,” Herrera says further.
“I wasn’t familiar with the Mission Gráfica art collective until recently. But I did recognize some of its artists, such as Esther Hernandez, from my studies of the Chicano rights movement in college,” discloses Herrera. “During that period, Esther’s work centered on themes of women’s rights and the struggles of Chicano farmworkers, using her art to amplify their voices and issues.”
“The printmakers we are featuring in Centered in Ink, all have connections to the Garcia Center for the Arts in the city of San Bernardino, similar to the artists in Mission Grafica, hosted by the Mission Cultural Center of Latino Arts in San Francisco,” Herrera explains. “Most of the local printmakers we are presenting are influenced by the Oaxaca woodcut print art form, originating from the Mexican state of Oaxaca.”
Local participating artists include:
Jacob Adame (Briar Rosa)
Briar Rosa works with various mediums to make paintings, sculptures, drawings and prints. Their work has developed into exploring the figure and its historical relationship with symbolism.
Adam Aguilar
A printmaker and multidisciplinary artist from the Inland Empire, Adam Aguilar has worked displayed in Inland Empire galleries and museums.
Lilian Owiti (L. Akinyi)
L. Akinyi is an interdisciplinary artist currently working to bridge the cultural landscapes of their upbringing in Nairobi to the diverse influences of the Inland Empire, where they currently live and work. Through their practice, Akinyi explores their own internal world, themes of identity, migration and the interplay between traditional and contemporary spiritual practices from her African/diasporic lens.
Micah Amaro
Micah Amaro is a San Bernardino artist who focuses on character design through colorful and expressive BIPOC illustrations. She has demonstrated her versatility by branching out into different mediums, such as printmaking with the collective Grafica Nocturna. Over the years, she has worked with many organizations, such as the Locatora Radio podcast and Arts Connection.
Brenda Angel (BA Soul)
An artist born and raised in San Bernardino, BA Soul expresses her creativity through paint, fabric, illustration and murals. Inspired by her culture and the beauty of nature, she connects deeply with others through her art.
Kenia Cruz
Kenia Cruz is an interdisciplinary artist raised in Los Angeles and the Inland Empire whose practice is currently focused on printmaking. She holds a bachelor of arts degree in Art with a concentration in visual studies from Cal State San Bernardino and is now pursuing a master’s degree in education with an emphasis on art at the University of Redlands.
Cesar Garcia
Cesar Garcia is a craftsman based in San Bernardino who prefers working with printmaking techniques such as xylography, pyrography, stencil and airbrushing. He believes art is a powerful tool to create awareness about what is happening around us and reflects the times we live in.
Jorge Heredia (Osvaldo Heredia)
Osvaldo Heredia is a first-generation Salvadoran Mexican, born in downtown Los Angeles and now primarily working in San Bernardino. Heredia is a graduate of Cal State San Bernardino and a former director of the Garcia Center for the Arts, where he led and contributed to many community projects, with the goal of empowering the community.
Duan Kellum
Born in Trenton, New Jersey, Duan Kellum is an educator, artist and activist. Kellum’s predominant mediums are screen-printing and stenciling.
Stephanie Lagos
Stephanie Lagos is a versatile artist based in the Inland Empire, exploring their Mexican Honduran heritage through various mediums, including painting, ceramics, drawing and printmaking. Their work reflects a deep connection to their roots and cultural identity, pushing the boundaries of Eurocentric ideas in art.
Erick Revollo-Paz
Erick Revollo-Paz is an artist born in Mexico and raised in Southern California. After graduating from California State San Bernardino, Revollo-Paz developed a passion for art, specifically within printmaking practices.
Sarah Vazquez
Sarah Vazquez is a visual artist from San Bernardino, California, who works across various mediums and has been focused on printmaking since 2018. Her work is emotionally driven as she explores themes of identity, connection and healing. Vazquez is an advocate for accessible art education and a member of the Grafica Nocturna printmaking collective.
“Through their creative process, the artists in both exhibitions reflect various styles, approaches, and sensibilities,” declares Herrera. “They explore societal struggles, weaving personal narratives into broader discussions that connect the individual to their community. These works spark dialogue on identity, place, and belonging, using diverse materials and symbols to share stories and encourage reflection. We hope the work resonates with you as much as it did with us and continues to inspire dialogue among members of the Inland Empire community.”
Through the decades and spanning cultures, artists have spoken their truths and effected social reform. Would that we, who view this exhibition, engage with their works and act on what we learn.
