(Photo illustration by Diana Ramirez / De Los; photos by Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times, Jill Connelly, Cheech Marin Center, Christina House / Los Angeles Times)
The 10 best places to see Latino art in Los Angeles
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Los Angeles is a city known for its vast Latino population, and its art scene is reflective of the diversity that exists within that community.
Some spaces, like the Cheech Marin Center in Riverside, specialize in Chicano art, while others, like the Museum of Latin American Art in Long Beach, focus on contemporary works from that region. On the commercial front, the Luis De Jesus gallery and Bermudez Projects regularly spotlight Latino artists.
For art lovers, or for anyone looking to spark inspiration, De Los has compiled 10 of the best places in Southern California to engage with Latino art.
Showing Places
(Gustavo Soriano / For The Times)
The Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture
Art Museum
In partnership with the larger Riverside Art Museum, comedian Cheech Marin showcases his vast Chicano art collection at his museum. Inside the two-story building, visitors are first greeted by a piece of Marin’s permanent collection — Einar and Jamex de la Torre’s “Gaiatlicue,” a two-story tall, vibrant lenticular print depicting the relationship between a Nahua deity and L.A.’s Chicano culture.
Opened in 2022, the museum features a mix of community-driven exhibitions, retrospective shows from high-profile artists like Judithe Hernandez and Yolanda Lopez, rotating pieces of Marin’s collection and educational programming. Previous shows like “Uncaged Perspectives,” a collaborative exhibit with UC Riverside’s Underground Scholars program, highlighted work from formerly incarcerated youth. It consisted of dioramas of their jail cells and large-print black-and-white photographs of daily life.
Opened in 2022, the museum features a mix of community-driven exhibitions, retrospective shows from high-profile artists like Judithe Hernandez and Yolanda Lopez, rotating pieces of Marin’s collection and educational programming. Previous shows like “Uncaged Perspectives,” a collaborative exhibit with UC Riverside’s Underground Scholars program, highlighted work from formerly incarcerated youth. It consisted of dioramas of their jail cells and large-print black-and-white photographs of daily life.
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(Alejandro R. Jimenez)
The Mistake Room
Central-Alameda Art Gallery
Known for its unconventional programming, the Mistake Room, a nonprofit gallery in the Arts District, is centered around doing the unexpected. Curator Cesar Garcia-Alvarez opened the space in 2014 intending to create a midsize, non-collecting art space that focused on museum-quality contemporary art.
Currently, the industrial space is adorned with the works of Hélio Oiticica and Neville D’Almeida. Their exhibition, “Cosmococa/CC2 Onobject,” is an immersive experience where attendees are asked to take off their shoes and enter a foam landscape surrounded by tarps. Past shows include painter Ken Taylor Reynaga’s “A Mano,” which consisted of works depicting both surrealist, colorful landscapes and distorted animal images.
Currently, the industrial space is adorned with the works of Hélio Oiticica and Neville D’Almeida. Their exhibition, “Cosmococa/CC2 Onobject,” is an immersive experience where attendees are asked to take off their shoes and enter a foam landscape surrounded by tarps. Past shows include painter Ken Taylor Reynaga’s “A Mano,” which consisted of works depicting both surrealist, colorful landscapes and distorted animal images.
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(Eduardo Gomez / Altura)
Altura Los Angeles
Lincoln Heights Art Gallery
Located in Lincoln Heights, Altura Los Angeles prioritizes creating space for hyper-local artistic expression. Founded and run by fellow artists, the gallery hosts around four shows a year and centers most of its programming around different elements of Latinidad.
Recently, the gallery has featured the portraiture of photographer Amanda Lopez (“Guadalupe — Reclaiming a Connection to the Divine”) as well as framed lowrider paint job patterns in “Meet Me at the Boulevard.” In addition to its exhibitions, Altura hosts various events to pair with the works on display as a means to foster community. For “Family Party,” a show curated by artist Anita Herrera, the gallery threw a party meant to transport attendees to “a classic ’90s L.A. family backyard boogie.” The night was filled with DJs spinning cumbias and corridos, jumping lowriders and a packed dance floor.
Recently, the gallery has featured the portraiture of photographer Amanda Lopez (“Guadalupe — Reclaiming a Connection to the Divine”) as well as framed lowrider paint job patterns in “Meet Me at the Boulevard.” In addition to its exhibitions, Altura hosts various events to pair with the works on display as a means to foster community. For “Family Party,” a show curated by artist Anita Herrera, the gallery threw a party meant to transport attendees to “a classic ’90s L.A. family backyard boogie.” The night was filled with DJs spinning cumbias and corridos, jumping lowriders and a packed dance floor.
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(Paul Turang)
Museum of Latin American Art
Long Beach Art Museum
Located in downtown Long Beach, the Museum of Latin American Art is the only museum in the country dedicated to contemporary and modern Latin American art. The large-scale nonprofit was founded in 1996 and has over 1,300 works of art in its permanent collection. The museum boasts several rotating gallery spaces and an outdoor sculpture garden that doubles as an event space. MOLAA also hosts a series of weekend docent tours, free children’s workshops, evenings with educators, and a bilingual arts and culture summer camp.
Past exhibitions include Brazilian artist Andrey Guaiana Zignnatto’s “Vermelho Como A Brasa,” a show in which he portrayed his Indigeneity through a wooden structure resembling a house, and “Cross-Border Women,” which featured the large-scale portraiture of Mexican artist Alejandra Phelts depicting the everyday life of women in Tijuana.
Past exhibitions include Brazilian artist Andrey Guaiana Zignnatto’s “Vermelho Como A Brasa,” a show in which he portrayed his Indigeneity through a wooden structure resembling a house, and “Cross-Border Women,” which featured the large-scale portraiture of Mexican artist Alejandra Phelts depicting the everyday life of women in Tijuana.
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(Julie Leopo / De Los)
LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes
Downtown L.A. Arts
LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes is considered one of the many hubs for the Mexican American community in Los Angeles. The nonprofit’s historic building across from Olvera Street doubles as an event space and a free museum. LA Plaza’s programming focuses on history and art. Guests are met with a timeline of the California Latino experience — from the era of Mexican independence to the bracero program to the Zoot Suit Riots — accompanied with artifacts. The museum’s second floor houses “Calle Principal,” a permanent exhibition that re-creates a portion of downtown’s Main Street from the 1920s.
LA Plaza also boasts a small gallery space that spotlights various L.A.-based artists. Past shows include “Jaime Muñoz: Truth Is a Moving Target” and “Louis Verdad: TONÁNTZIN.”
LA Plaza also boasts a small gallery space that spotlights various L.A.-based artists. Past shows include “Jaime Muñoz: Truth Is a Moving Target” and “Louis Verdad: TONÁNTZIN.”
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(Jorge Grau / Luis De Jesus Los Angeles)
Luis De Jesus Los Angeles
Downtown L.A. Art Gallery
Behind a pair of blue metal doors in the Arts District lies Luis De Jesus Los Angeles, a Latino-owned contemporary art gallery focused on intersectional diversity that showcases regional and global art. Though the space doesn’t focus exclusively on Latino artists, recent shows include “Luis Emilio Romero: Fortress of Light / Fortaleza de Luz,” Edra Soto’s architectural series “por la señal” and “Chaos Anime,” trailblazing Chicano artist John Valadez’s first solo exhibition with the gallery.
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(Spaceland Biennial)
Bermudez Projects
Cypress Park Art Gallery
In the Northeast L.A. neighborhood of Cypress Park, Bermudez Projects sits on the corner of one of the neighborhood’s main avenues. The street is filled with a few trendy restaurants, bars and neighborhood markets. Because of the gallery’s wide, open almost-garage style doors, it’s quite easy to stumble into.
The lofted space features high ceilings and an office space on the second floor. The art is displayed throughout the bottom floor. The gallery spotlights artists who have just passed through the threshold of emerging artist and are entering midcareer.
The car-focused work of Jay Bell hung on each of the walls. Bell focuses on small to medium sized portraiture of all different kinds of cars around Los Angeles — sometimes dreamy, other times realistic.
The lofted space features high ceilings and an office space on the second floor. The art is displayed throughout the bottom floor. The gallery spotlights artists who have just passed through the threshold of emerging artist and are entering midcareer.
The car-focused work of Jay Bell hung on each of the walls. Bell focuses on small to medium sized portraiture of all different kinds of cars around Los Angeles — sometimes dreamy, other times realistic.
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(Eastern Projects)
Eastern Projects
Chinatown Art Gallery
Walking distance from the Metro Gold Line’s Chinatown stop, a neon sign reads “Eastern Projects.” Known for regularly spotlighting L.A.’s historic and contemporary Latino artists, the downtown art space was founded in 2016.
The gallery has since held the work of photographer Estevan Oriol, painter Frank Romero and graffiti artist Chaz Bojorquez. This past year, it paid homage to the 50th anniversary of Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s historic “Los Four” exhibit — the first major art show centered around Chicano artists (Romero, Carlos Almaraz, Gilbert “Magú” Luján and Roberto “Beto” de la Rocha). It also presented street photographer Merrick Morton’s solo exhibit “Un-Rehearsed,” a retrospective of his career from being known as “the guy” taking pictures of L.A. gang life to photographing movie sets including “La Bamba” and “Blood In Blood Out.”
The space often hosts walk-throughs and Q&As with the artist, as well as short film screenings.
The gallery has since held the work of photographer Estevan Oriol, painter Frank Romero and graffiti artist Chaz Bojorquez. This past year, it paid homage to the 50th anniversary of Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s historic “Los Four” exhibit — the first major art show centered around Chicano artists (Romero, Carlos Almaraz, Gilbert “Magú” Luján and Roberto “Beto” de la Rocha). It also presented street photographer Merrick Morton’s solo exhibit “Un-Rehearsed,” a retrospective of his career from being known as “the guy” taking pictures of L.A. gang life to photographing movie sets including “La Bamba” and “Blood In Blood Out.”
The space often hosts walk-throughs and Q&As with the artist, as well as short film screenings.
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(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
Avenue 50 Studio
Highland Park Art Gallery
Self-described as a “multicultural nonprofit art space grounded in Latina/o/x culture,” Avenue 50 acts as an art-centric community hub for Highland Park. The gallery will typically host up to four small-scale exhibitions at a time. Previously, it has presented “Defining Our Legacies Ancestor to Ancestor,” a multimedia show of several artists on Dia De Los Muertos, and “Maintaining Fire,” which featured works that portray L.A.’s Chicano culture across generations.
Avenue 50 Studio also hosts monthly poetry readings and events with its featured artists. The organization’s mission is to help foster intercultural dialogue through art and it regularly looks for volunteers to assist with its programming. Keep an eye out for a new location in 2025.
Avenue 50 Studio also hosts monthly poetry readings and events with its featured artists. The organization’s mission is to help foster intercultural dialogue through art and it regularly looks for volunteers to assist with its programming. Keep an eye out for a new location in 2025.
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Social and Public Art Resource Center (SPARC)
The nonprofit runs two galleries — one inside its Venice Boulevard office, the Durón Gallery, and the other in Santa Monica’s Bergamot Station Arts Center. Previously, the Durón Gallery showed “Exploring Metaphors: The Creative Process of the Great Wall of Los Angeles,” which consisted of original sketches and planning materials; Bergamot Station highlighted “The 1960s: A Generation on Fire,” a new portion of the mural that depicts Martin Luther King Jr., Nina Simone and the activists who opposed the Vietnam War.