Galería de la Raza

Founded in 1970 by a group of Chicano artists and community activists in San Francisco’s Mission District, Galería de la Raza | Studio 24 is a non-profit dedicated to promoting Xicanx/Latinx art and culture. Throughout its history, Galería has emerged as an international forum for the examination and expression of artistic concepts central to the Chicano/Latino experience, such as community memory, popular culture, ceremony, family and social activism. The gallery started the first community mural program in the United States, re-introduced Frida Kahlo’s work to the American public, and was at the forefront of reclaiming images and practices from popular traditions that not only reflected but formed El Movimiento Chicano, the Chicano civil rights movement. For example, Galería was responsible for establishing the Mexican celebration of Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) as an articulation of Chicano/a and Latino/a aesthetics. 
Today, Galería’s “creative place keeping” ethos is rooted in social inclusion and justice, where community arts are central to navigating the complex intersection of urban development, social inequality, affordable housing, and the historical-cultural legacies of communities of color. To implement their mission, the Galería supports Latinx artists in the visual, literary, media, and performing art fields whose works explore new aesthetic possibilities for socially committed art.