Self Help Graphics & Art
Tucked on Cesar Chavez Avenue, Self Help Graphics & Art has been a cornerstone of Chicano and Latino artistic expression since 1970, running printmaking workshops, gallery shows, and its legendary Día de los Muertos celebration that draws thousands every November.
A Living Workshop, Not Just a Gallery
Unlike a traditional gallery, Self Help Graphics is an active atelier where artists screen-print, lithograph, and create in real time — if you visit during an open studio session, you may watch a limited-edition print being pulled from the press and buy it directly from the artist for $20–$60.
The permanent collection of silkscreen prints spanning five decades of Chicano movement art is a visual history lesson more vivid and honest than any textbook.
Día de los Muertos: The Main Event
Self Help Graphics invented the modern public Día de los Muertos celebration in East LA back in 1972, and the annual event — held on the weekend closest to November 1st — remains the most authentic and moving version in the city, with elaborate ofrendas, face painting, traditional dance, and candlelit processions.
Even outside November, the building's exterior murals and the rotating gallery shows make it a destination for anyone interested in where American contemporary art and Mexican cultural heritage intersect.
Plan Your Visit
Gallery hours vary by exhibition schedule, so check selfhelpgraphics.com before visiting; the space is at 1300 E Cesar Chavez Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90033.
Print sales and workshops are open to the public and represent some of the best-value original art purchases in Los Angeles — a hand-pulled silkscreen by an emerging Chicano artist is a far more meaningful souvenir than anything from a tourist shop.
Self Help Graphics & Art on video
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