May Day and AMERICA TODAY

As we prepare for May Day - against the backdrop of the nation’s 250th anniversary - we’re thinking about whose stories get told. Who belongs, who has power, and who decides? In response to those questions, Self Help Graphics continues to uplift the works and voices of artists of color who denormalize patriotic narratives and uplift alternative worldviews.

We invite you to join us for two April events about that: an upcoming “Poster Making and Chanting” gathering at InnerCity Struggle, where our artivists will prepare for this year’s May Day demonstrations, and the opening of the Print Center’s exhibition America Today: Voices in Contemporary Print, which features bold works by six SHG artists. From Boyle Heights to Philadelphia, come build community with us through artistic expression and civic belonging!

MONDAY, APRIL 27 | “POSTER MAKING AND CHANTING” ART BUILD + MAY DAY PREP

Monday, April 27 | 4:30-7:30 PM
InnerCity Struggle
3467 Whittier Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90023

Join us as we make posters and practice chants in preparation for May Day. Also known as International Workers’ Day, May Day honors the labor movement that brought us fair wages, safe working conditions, and the eight-hour workday.

At the event, SHG and Eastside LEADS’ 2026 Youth Artivism Interns will be live printing “Protest Graphics,” with support from artist Joe Galarza.

This event is presented in collaboration with InnerCity Struggle, Self Help Graphics & Art, Latino Equality Alliance, and Eastside LEADS.

AMERICA TODAY: VOICES IN CONTEMPORARY PRINT AT THE PRINT CENTER

Self Help Graphics is delighted to be one of the six partner workshops featured in The Print Center’s (Philadelphia, PA) upcoming exhibition America Today: Voices in Contemporary Print. This groundbreaking show highlights the power of print as a medium for expressing political ideals and urgent societal concerns. America Today brings together contemporary works by 38 artists from six community-centered, mission-based printshops across the U.S. to consider the breadth of democracy and the American experience in the context of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776. The workshops include SHG and the Coronado Printstudio (Austin, TX); the EFA Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop (New York, NY); the Crow's Shadow Institute for the Arts (Pendleton, OR); the Brandywine Workshop and Archives (Philadelphia); and the Women's Studio Workshop (Kingston, NY).

On view April 24 – July 25, 2026, the exhibition will be accompanied by an opening reception with gallery talks, curator-led tours, and public programs. America Today has been supported by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage.

The Self Help Graphics artists included in this exhibition are Consuelo Flores, Luis-Genaro García, Melissa Govea, Priscilla Hernandez, José Lozano, and Álvaro D. Márquez. All of these works open space for urgent conversations about agency, equity, and democracy, and many of them confront state violence, ongoing ICE raids and detention centers, whose violence continues to impact our communities.

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