During the fervent years of the 1970s at the University of Michigan, a pioneering group of Latina/o students formed La Raza Art and Media Collective. Through self-organized exhibitions, cultural gatherings, and its journal, the collective gathered artists, art historians, poets, and journalists to voice the cultural and political expression of Chicano, Hispanic, and Latinx communities on campus and beyond. Members of the organization went on to become regional and national leaders in Latinx art and activism, education, community and political advocacy, and public arts.

RAM Collective co-founders George Vargas, Ana Luisa Cardona, and Jesse Gonzalez will discuss the lasting impact of this seminal moment in Latinx history at the University and their connections to the broader Latinx Midwest. They will share perspectives on Chicanx and Latinx student activism, DIY publications and new media in the 1970s, and the development of a network of like-minded organizations around the country that centered art as an act of politics and self-definition.

This program is presented in connection with the UMMA exhibition “La Raza Art and Media Collective, 1975 – Today” and serves as the keynote event of Latinx Midwest History, a 2-day symposium taking place April 11-12, 2025.  The exhibition revisits the 50th anniversary of the foundation of RAM Collective to reflect on the profound impact of these visionary creators and the vital contributions of Latinx artists to Michigan’s cultural landscape on campus and beyond.

Free and open to the public. No registration required.