Mission Gráfica East Bay Book Launch and Panel Discussion
In celebration of the publication of Mission Gráfica: Reflecting a Community in Print, Kala Art Institute will host an East Bay book launch and a panel discussion featuring women who participated in this community print workshop, a center of diversity and cultural ferment. For more than 40 years Mission Gráfica has produced challenging, aesthetically outstanding artwork of social and political relevance. Featured on the panel are artists who participated over the past decades and whose work appears in the book: Susana Aragón, Ester Hernandez, and Josefina Jacquin. Robbin Légère Henderson and Michelle Mouton, two members of the team that produced the book, will moderate the discussion. Artworks by Mildred Howard and Nancy Hom will also be discussed.
About the Event
Women of Mission Gráfica Panel Discussion at Kala Art Institute, and co-hosted by the Middle East Children’s Alliance and Alliance Graphics. Refreshments provided. This event takes place during Kala’s West Berkeley Community Print Festival.
About the Book
Mission Gráfica: Reflecting a Community in Print, 2022
Written by Art Hazelwood in collaboration with Juan R. Fuentes, Robbin Légère Henderson, Michelle Mouton, Calixto Robles, Jos Sances
Preface by Juan Felipe Herrera, Poet Laureate
Price: $45.00+tax
*Book will be available during the West Berkeley Print Festival, 12-5pm.
This abundantly illustrated narrative reflecting an enormous variety of styles, approaches and sensibilities, was written by Art Hazelwood in collaboration with Juan R. Fuentes, Robbin Légère Henderson, Michelle Mouton and Calixto Robles, and designed by Jos Sances, a founder of Mission Gráfica. An evocative introduction by US Poet Laureate Juan Felipe Herrera situates Mission Gráfica within the context of the rich history of political posters in the San Francisco Bay Area. The book is richly illustrated with over one hundred full-color screenprints selected from thousands produced by the many artists who cycled through the studio over the years. For nine years the contributors gathered for regular meetings to recall the history and to select the posters for this book. The often riotous conversations that ensued were later whittled down to the book’s informative text. The book will be available for purchase during the event and authors and artists will be present for signings.
About the Panel
Feminism and women’s roles in liberation struggles and activism were strong currents in the progressive tide sweeping the Bay Area of the 1970s and 1980s. Founded by men in San Francisco’s Mission District, encouraged by this spirit, Mission Gráfica’s leaders invited women to collaborate with them to create personal work, posters promoting community events or design international protest posters. Influenced by Michelle Mouton, his activist partner, when Juan Fuentes assumed the directorship of Gráfica, he centered the representations and concerns of women, initiating in March 1991 an exhibition that became an annual event honoring International Women’s Day. Collaboration and inclusion continues even as Gráfica adapts to changing realities. Participants will reflect on this history and where we are now.
Panelists
Susana Aragón
Ester Hernandez
Josefina Jacquin
Michelle Mouton
Robbin Légère Henderson
Event Details
Date: April 15, 2023
Time: 4:00 pm–5:00 pm
Kala Gallery & Community Classroom
2990 San Pablo Avenue
Berkeley, CA 94702