July 9 – July 30, 2011

The Studio for Southern California History
(213) 229-8890
www.socalstudio.org

Contact: Christian Lainez

Join us for a retrospective on the work of Leo Limón with a focus on the Los Angeles River, the L.A. River Gatitas, and Art Peace Park. Unless otherwise noted, all events are free.

July 9: 7-10 pm: Opening Reception

July 16: 10am – 2 pm: Artists Workshop
Create your own Gatita—with Leo’s help. FEE: $25 for members $55 for nonmembers. Price includes materials (canvas, paints, brushes) and boxed lunch.

July 30: 2 pm: Panel
Discussion moderated by Tomás Benitez with Gustavo Leclerc, Jenny Price & Paul Tanzawa. The panel is $5 for members, $10 for non-members.

July 30: 7 – 10pm: Closing Reception

Leo Limón: Limón is a longtime cultural worker and an arts ambassador for East LA and the Chicano community. He has been involved with the art group Los Four, the Mechicano Art Center, Plaza de la Raza, the Centro de Arte Publico, and Self-Help Graphics. He has assisted with the LA River Catz restoration and re-creation project during his co-directorship at the Aztlan Cultural Arts Foundation, Inc. He has worked with groups like Friends of the LA River to revive the Los Angeles River as a historic region, cultural arts enclave and tourist destination. He is one of the most distinguished mid career artists of the Chicano art movement. Leo is also a United States veteran.

Tomas Benitez: Benitez is a writer and long-time cultural ambassador for East Los Angeles. He serves as an Arts Commissioner for Los Angeles County and has been integrally involved with the Bilingual Foundation of the Arts, Self Help Graphics, Plaza de la Raza and the Studio for Southern California History. He is also an actor and teacher.

Gustavo Leclerc: Leclerc is an artist and a partner and founding member of ADOBE LA (Architects, Artists and Designers Opening the Border Edge of Los Angeles). He is the co-author (with Michael Dear) of the book “Postborder City: Cultural Spaces of Bajalta California.”

Jenny Price: Jenny Price is the author of “Flight Maps: Adventures with Nature in Modern America,” and has been published in the Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Washington Post, Audubon, and LA Weekly. She leads frequent tours of the L.A. River, and is working on a new book, “13 Ways of Seeing Nature in L.A.” She lives in Venice.

Paul Tanzawa: Tanzawa is a Los Angeles educator who saw Leo’s talent in high school and demanded more of his young student than Leo’s other teachers. Tanzawa served as an early mentor Leo and is his favorite teacher. The two individuals were reunited in 2010 at an exhibit on David Alfaro Siquieros at the Autry Center for the West.