Forgotten History of LA: Walking tour with Ken Gonzales-Day & Edgar Garcia

Tour Downtown Los Angeles and learn about the city’s often-overlooked history. Artist Ken Gonzales-Day devoted two decades to reconstructing the history of lynching in California, documenting over 350 lynching cases, 59 of which occurred in Los Angeles. Gonzales-Day will guide us through these historic sites, offering us the opportunity to learn about these enduring legacies and reflect on how these events continue to shape our present-day. Additionally, Edgar Garcia, Interim General Manager of El Pueblo, will join us and share his expertise on El Pueblo and Olvera Street's history. After, guests are welcome to join us for a community collective conversation.

Please note the walking tour is 45 minutes long and will take place outdoors in downtown Los Angeles. Space is limited; RSVP is required. The meeting point details will be provided closer to the tour date.

In partnership with El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument Department.

ABOUT THE ARTIST:

Ken Gonzales-Day is a Los Angeles-based artist whose interdisciplinary practice considers the historical construction of race and the limits of representational systems ranging from lynching photographs to educational museum displays. His widely exhibited Erased Lynching series (ongoing), along with the publication of (Duke University Press, 2006) transformed the understanding of racialized violence in the United States and raised awareness of the lynching of Latinos, Native Americans, Asians, and African-Americans in California, and to see these collective acts of violence within the larger history of policing, anti-immigration movements, and racial terror lynchings.

Gonzales-Day received a BFA from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, an MFA from the University of California, Irvine, and an MA from Hunter College in NYC. He was a Van Lier Fellow in the Whitney Museum's Independent Study Program and his work has been widely exhibited: including The J. Paul Getty Museum; LACMA; MOCA; Luis De Jesus Los Angeles; Eastman Museum, Rochester; The Tamayo Museum, Mexico City; The Palais de Tokyo, Paris; The New Museum, CUE Art Foundation, The Kitchen, Jack Shainmann, and El Museo in NYC; The Generali in Vienna; and Thomas Dane Gallery in London, among others.

Edgar Garcia is the Assistant General Manager for El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument with over twenty years of experience in cultural policy, arts administration, and historic preservation. Born and raised in Los Angeles to Mexican immigrants, he is committed to supporting the cultural infrastructure of Los Angeles.An early recipient of the Getty Marrow Multicultural internship, he began his public service as Preservation Planner for the city’s Office of Historic Resources, overseeing some of L.A.’s most cherished historic and cultural sites. He served in the administration of former Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti as Arts & Culture Deputy. Awarded the Getty’s Leadership in Arts Management grant, he has served as a Fitch Scholar, Royal Oak Foundation Scholar, and Diversity Scholar for both the National Trust and Historic New England. He was also named a Pocantico Fellow with the Rockefeller Brothers Fund. He served on an ICOMOS–State Department diplomatic exchange leading architectural conservation projects in Russia. Selected for the EU’s Global Cultural Leadership program, he is also a recipient of the German Marshall Memorial Fellowship.

Image: Ken Gonzales-Day, Nightfall II, 2006, Archival ink on fiber rag paper, 40"x 83"

USC is committed to making its events accessible to individuals with disabilities. If you need accommodations to participate in this event, you may contact us at [email protected] or 213-740-4561.

Individuals requiring accommodations or auxiliary aids, such as sign language interpreters/real-time captioners and alternative format materials are asked to notify us at least seven days prior to the event. Every reasonable effort will be made to provide accommodations in an effective and timely manner.

Host or Publisher USC Fisher Museum of Art