FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
California’s history is the story of
immigration, but most of California’s immigrants have not been allowed
to tell their own stories. From the gold rush to the Asian influx of
the early twentieth century to the Latino movement of the last thirty
years, historians have usually incorporated the newly arrived immigrant
populations as the silent but necessary labor behind the Gold State
narrative of economic success.
Life Cycles: Reflections of Change and A
New Hope for Future Generations examines
the personal histories of immigrant and migrant farm worker families
that settled in the colonias of Coachella Valley, California. With the
support of a grant from the California Council For The Humanities,
Jacalyn Lopez Garcia follows the progress of seven migrant families to
create a photographic document of their involvement in changing the
California social landscape. What this photo documentary reveals is an
immigrant and migrant community that represents long-neglected sites
for gathering stories about California’s historic place as the land of
opportunity. Specifically, this documentary focuses on personal stories
of struggle and accomplishment for families, students and members of
the growing Colonia communities located in the Southeastern deserts of
California. These communities are unincorporated settlements sometimes
located just outside of regular communities. Being unincorporated, and
therefore not under the jurisdiction of any civic entity, they often
lack basic infrastructural amenities such as water, electricity,
sewage, or law enforcement. And they are also a primary place where
immigrant and migrant laborers must necessarily live. Caught between
harsh circumstances back home and uncertain prospects in an unknown
place, these Colonias represent a difficult crossroads for their
inhabitants. By focusing specifically on the Colonias of Mecca,
Thermal, Oasis, and two Native American reservations, Life Cycles will
critically examine the Colonia lifestyles in order to reveal motivating
factors that cause individuals to embark on a journey to places of
incredibly harsh living conditions in the hope of someday achieving a
better life.
Life Cycles is
an integral component of a larger project funded by a Housing and Urban
Development grant Capacity Building for the Future Project and a
previous grant funded by The California Wellness Foundation Ecological
Health for the Future. Both grants have been awarded to the University
of California, Riverside’s Ernesto Galarza Applied Research Center and
will be used for research aimed at improving the living conditions for
an estimated 15,000 farm workers in the eastern Coachella Valley.
Garcia, as the Director for the Communities for Virtual
Research, has been responsible for the establishment technology
training centers, program development and implementation of curriculum
for these projects.
Jacalyn Lopez Garcia’s
photographic series reveal the harsh realities of desert living and
critically examines the relationship between some of the “past” and
“present” approaches used to improve lifestyles of Colonia residents.
The dream of economic independence and a better life draws immigrants
and migrants to these Colonias, but they often must survive in harsh
living conditions that make day-to-day life a full-time job by itself.
In an effort to inspire the need for social change, Garcia’s black and
white images along side of each family expose the harsh realities of
how, in some instances, living conditions for the migrant farmworkers
in the Colonias have not changed since the 1950-1965 strike years. Her
family photos and portraits focus on how improved living conditions
resulted from either an individual process or action that was inspired
by the desire to pursue the goals of solving human problems.
To bring further clarity and a new level of understanding to this
series, researchers (including Garcia herself) conducted interviews
with the Colonia residents to document their life experiences. These
allowed the residents to use their own voices, instead of relying on
others to speak for them. The results along with the photographs have
been incorporated into an interactive website to aid awareness and
inspire a global dialogue. The website will serve as a vehicle to
examine, reflect, and comment on a community’s desire to change life
cycles and increase the quality of living for themselves and
generations to come.
Jacalyn Lopez Garcia received an M.F.A.
degree in Multimedia and Photography from Claremont Graduate
University. She is the Director of the Communities for Virtual Research
at the University of California, Riverside and teaches photography, art
and multimedia studies classes at various community colleges in Los
Angeles and Riverside County. Her art works have been on display at
local, national, and international museums and galleries including the
California Museum of Photography; MOCA (Los Angeles); European Media
Arts Festival; and the Pallace of Fine Arts (Bellas Artes), Mexico.
Georg Burwick, Curator of Digital Media,
UCR/California Museum of Photography
Shane Shukis, Interim Associate Director, UCR/Sweeny Art Gallery
TOURING EXHIBITION PREMIERES AT THE
CALIFORNIA MUSEUM OF PHOTOGRAPHY
January 21-April 15, 2006
UCR/CMP
Oculorium Gallery
January
21-April 15, 2006
Opening
Reception: January 21, 2006, 7-9pm
UCR/California
Museum of Photography
3824
Main Street, Riverside, CA, 92501
This
is in downtown Riverside where the Main Street Pedestrian Mall and
University
Avenue meet, about three miles west of the University of California, Riverside
campus.
Gallery
& Museum Store Hours: Tuesday - Saturday 12 to 5 p.m.
PLEASE CHECK BACK FOR UPDATES ON THE TOURING EXHIBITION CALENDAR
La Sierra University - Fall 2006
Art Institute for Multimedia - Sprnig 2007
If you are interested in bringing this exhibition to your community
contact: Eszter Delgado @ Eszde@aol.com
or send an email to jacalyn@artelunasol.com
ABOUT
THE PROJECT
PROJECT"S
DIRECTOR/PHOTOGRAPHER & WORK IN PROGRESS
RESEARCHERS
& PRODUCTION STAFF
EXHIBITION
& SPONSORS
CONTACT INFORMATION
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