Carlos Puma at The Cheech — First Sundays

A museum reception can sound like background noise on a community calendar. But this one has a sharper angle. Carlos Puma is not just dropping in t(riversideartmuseum.org)lf. On Sunday, May 3, that work gets a public-facing moment during The Cheech’s First Sundays program in Riverside. (riversideartmuseum.org)cheech-arts-walk-and-reception/)) ### What is happening on Sunday? The concrete event is a free reception for “Carlos Puma: Cheech @ The Cheech” running (riversideartmuseum.org)sted as part of the venue’s First Sundays programming, which means the museum is already open free that day. (riversideartmuseum.org) ### What is First Sundays, exactly? First Sundays is the monthly free-admission window shared by Riverside Art Museum and The Cheech. On May 3, both s(riversideartmuseum.org)de a broader day when people can wander in without the usual ticket barrier. That matters more than it sounds — it turns a niche art event into an easy drop-in stop for downtown visitors. (riversideartmuseum.org) ### What is Puma’s exhibition about? The show is called “Cheech at The Cheech.” Basically, Puma uses(riversideartmuseum.org)meline of the center’s creation and growth, built from behind-the-scenes access to Cheech Marin during the years when the cultural center was taking shape. (riversideartmuseum.org) ### Why does that access matter? Because this is not an outside photographer parachuting in after the fact. Puma was given exclusive behind-the-scenes access beginning in 2017, years bef(riversideartmuseum.org) the images a different kind of value — less “museum promo,” more visual record of how a cultural institution actually got built, argued over, and made public. (riversideartmuseum.org) ### Where does the show fit inside The Cheech? The exhibition is on view in the Atrium and runs from(riversideartmuseum.org)dpoint spotlight — a programmed chance to meet the artist and see the work while it is still fresh in the museum’s current season. (riversideartmuseum.org) ### Why is this a useful stop right now? Because The Cheech is having a photography-heavy moment. Alongside Puma’s exhibition, the center is also showing “Chicano Camera Culture: A Pho([riversideartmuseum.org](https://riversideartmuseum.org/event/carlos-puma-cheech-the-cheech-arts-walk-and-reception/))ok less like a one-off reception and more like a live entry point into how photography is being used to tell Chicano cultural history in Riverside right now. ([riversidedowntown.org](https://www.riversidedowntown.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/May-2026-Downtown-Events-Calendar.pdf)) ### So is this about music, photos, or the museum itself? Mostly photos([riversideartmuseum.org](https://riversideartmuseum.org/exhibitions/cheech-at-the-cheech/))oung. It opened in June 2022, which means its founding years are recent enough to still feel alive rather than archived. Puma’s work turns those early years into something visitors can actually walk through and inspect. ([riversideartmuseum.org](https://riversideartmuseum.org/visit/the-cheech/)) ### What should a visitor expect? Expect a free museum afternoon, a defined reception window from 2 to 4 p.m.**, and an exhibition that doubles as origin story. (riversidedowntown.org)st the finished version on the wall. (riversideartmuseum.org) The bottom line is simple. Sunday’s event is small in scale but specific in value. It gives Riverside visitors a free, low-friction way to see how The Cheech became The Cheech — through the eyes of the photographer who was there before the public was. (riversideartmuseum.org)