Cheech to Open Major Chicano Art Survey

The Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture in Riverside will open a yearlong exhibition on May 30 that aims to survey six decades of Chicano art in the United States. “We the People: Chicano Art in the U.S.A.” will remain on view through May 23, 2027, according to the Riverside Art Museum and The Cheech. The show includes 126 works by 61 artists and draws from Cheech Marin’s collection, the museum’s permanent holdings, recent gifts, new acquisitions and artist loans. The exhibition is timed to the institution’s fourth anniversary, the museum said. ### What exactly is in the show? Benito Huerta, the artist and curator organizing the exhibition, assembled a roster that includes Vincent Valdez, Chaz Bojórquez, José Lozano and Sonia Romero, according to the museum’s May 8 press release. The museum said several works will be shown for the first time, while others return after appearing in earlier exhibitions at The Cheech. (riversideartmuseum.org) The exhibition page lists 61 featured artists, among them Carlos Almaraz, Barbara Carrasco, Carmen Lomas Garza, Judithe Hernández, Patssi Valdez, Eloy Torrez and Frank Romero. The museum said the works span painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture and mixed media. ### Which themes does “We the People” focus on? (riversideartmuseum.org) The Riverside Art Museum said the exhibition is guided by themes including immigration, community life, borders, migration and documentation. In its press materials, the museum also described the show as centering identity, migration, community and cultural memory. (riversideartmuseum.org) Huerta said the title is meant as a statement about belonging in the United States. “We the People: Chicano Art in the U.S.A. is a declarative statement that we, Chicanos, are part of the people of these United States of America,” he said in the release. He added that Chicanos are “integral to the fabric of this country and American art.” (riversideartmuseum.org) Cheech Marin said the exhibition is intended to place those works within a broader national frame. “This exhibition reflects the depth and diversity of Chicano art and the stories that shape our communities,” Marin said in the release. “It’s important that these works are seen as part of the broader American experience.” (riversideartmuseum.org) ### Which works and artists are singled out by the museum? The museum highlighted Lalo Alcaraz’s “Summer of ICE (Abandoned Paleta Cart),” which it said was inspired by the detention of a street vendor who left his cart behind. It also pointed to Benjamin Muñoz’s “A Miracle of the Masses,” a work featuring a paleta cart marked “Assembled in America” and the “Huelga” symbol associated with the farmworker movement. (riversideartmuseum.org) Israel Alejandro García García’s “Mojado No.1” is another featured work named by the museum. The institution described that installation as addressing the artist’s experience with migration, border politics and documentation. The exhibition page also highlights works by Muñoz, Valdez and Romero as examples of the show’s range. (riversideartmuseum.org) ### Why is this exhibition opening at The Cheech? The Cheech, which opened on June 17, 2022, is part of the Riverside Art Museum and is dedicated to Chicana/o/x art, according to the museum. The center says it is home to the Cheech Marin Collection and was created as a space for exhibition, scholarship and dialogue around Chicano art from the movement’s roots in the 1960s and 1970s through contemporary practice. (riversideartmuseum.org) The museum says the 61,420-square-foot center occupies a renovated former Riverside public library building at 3581 Mission Inn Ave. in Riverside. The institution describes it as the first cultural center of its kind devoted to showcasing Chicana/o/x art. ### When can people see it, and what happens next? May 30, 2026 is the public opening date for “We the People: Chicano Art in the U.S.A.” at The Cheech’s first-floor galleries, according to the exhibition listing. (riversideartmuseum.org) The show is scheduled to run until May 23, 2027. June 4, 2026 is one of the next public program dates on the museum calendar, with free admission during Riverside ArtsWalk and “Palabra at The Cheech,” an open-mic poetry event at the center. (riversideartmuseum.org) The museum’s ticketing page lists “We the People” among upcoming exhibitions opening May 30. (riversideartmuseum.org) (riversideartmuseum.org)