The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, California, will host the West Coast debut of “Radical Histories: Chicano Prints from the Smithsonian American Art Museum” on November 16. The exhibition features 60 works by some 40 artists and collectives from the Smithsonian American Art Museum, spanning over six decades of Chicano printmaking as a form of resistance, community building, and cultural reclamation. It traces key moments from the late 1960s Delano Grape Strike to the present, using silkscreens, posters, and offset prints. The Huntington has also commissioned a mural by Los Angeles–based artist Melissa Govea in partnership with Self Help Graphics & Art.
This exhibition matters because it highlights the role of Chicano printmaking as a powerful tool for activism and social change, connecting historical struggles like the United Farm Workers’ movement to contemporary issues. By presenting these works at a major institution like The Huntington, the show amplifies underrepresented voices and underscores the enduring significance of art as a catalyst for community mobilization and cultural reclamation. It also reinforces the importance of partnerships between national museums and local artists in preserving and celebrating Chicano heritage.