Talks & Programs

Join us Wednesday, October 29, 2025 for a special program focused on honoring cultural heritage and spiritual practices through Dia de los Muertos and the arts!

Enjoy a presentation by Ofelia Esparza and Rosanna Esparza Ahrens on the power of altars as expressions of life shaped by growing up in East Los Angeles. Their testimonies reflect the cultural knowledge, resilience, and resourcefulness formed through their upbringings, and how those values guide the ways they honor their loved ones.

Afterward, Ofelia and Rosanna will be joined by Nobuko Miyamoto, Alison De La Cruz, and Sybil Venegas for a panel about spiritual practices across cultures, moderated by VPAM Curator of Exhibitions Joseph Daniel Valencia.

The event is presented as part of the Racial Equity and Social Justice Townhall series at East Los Angeles College.

Thursday, April 3, 2025

This Spanish-language program was presented on the occasion of the opening reception of “Situamos la vida en el centro” in Bogotá, Colombia. It includes an introduction by curator Joseph Valencia, followed by a panel discussion with artist Carolina Caycedo and Tatiana Roa Avendaño, Vice Minister of Environmental Land Management, Colombia.

“Situamos la vida en el centro” is curated by Joseph Valencia and on view at Museo de Arte Miguel Urrutia, Banco de la República, Colombia, April 3–July 21, 2025.

Event Recording: https://youtu.be/WiGRveJAN74?si=1QuU-dgW74njHwyH

Saturday, August 17, 2024

Join the artists of “El Cuerpo: The (Performing) Body and the Photographic Stage” in conversation with Joseph Daniel Valencia. The talk will focus on the impulse to stage oneself in photographs, as well as how teaching, family, and Los Angeles serve as inspiration for their diverse practices.

“El Cuerpo” is curated by Christina Fernandez and on view at Gallery Luisotti. Artists in the exhibition include William Camargo, James Francisco Garcia, Arlene Mejorado, Star Montana, Aydinaneth Ortiz, Juan Manuel Valenzuela, and Christopher Anthony Velasco.

Event Recording: TinyURL.com/ElCuerpoVideo

Saturday, May 11, 2024

Join us for this two-part event celebrating the work of Getty Artist-in-Residence Carolina Caycedo. The program will begin in the Central Garden with a participatory performance by Caycedo and Los Angeles-based movement artist Isis Avalos using Caycedo's Serpent River Book #1 (2017), a vast and meandering collage that explores the effects of industrialization and extractivism on river systems, water resources, and communities. Following the performance, Caycedo will be joined by Joseph Valencia, curator at the Vincent Price Art Museum (VPAM), for a lively dialogue about her work on the Serpent River Book series and upcoming exhibition We Place Life at the Center / Situamos la vida en el centro (opening fall 2024 at VPAM).

April 1–5, 2024

In Spring 2023, I co-taught a course on art and environmental studies, which culminated with an international gathering in Mexico City co-organized with Ruta del Castor. Students, artists, activists, educators, scientists, farmers, and neighbors from Xochimilco gathered in the contested waters and chinampas of Xochimilco under the question “Which waters do you belong to?”, not to speak about this particular territory, but to learn from it. A carefully curated series of events and activities began at the Museo Tamayo with a film program focused on Jalisco’s Santiago River, one of the most polluted in Mexico. The subsequent day, a smaller crowd met in Chapultepec Park at the Carcamo de Dolores, a hydraulic infrastructure and art museum, to eat a collaborative meal and reenact the ecosystemic connections between the four basins surrounding Mexico City. In the final days of the encuentro, we gathered at the chinampa of Humedalia, A.C. in Cuemanco, an educational center dedicated to the ecological restoration and sustainability of wetlands. As a collective body, we traveled through the canals, made art, journaled, danced, cooked, rested, and did rituals. We cared for each others stories and struggles, we listened to the ahuejotes and to the plants we harvested, we prayed for rain to alleviate the drought, and we regenerated our pacts with land and water. As a final gesture, we transmitted audio and sound recordings of our week’s activities with Radio Nopal, allowing us the opportunity to share and deepen the program’s dialogues.

Learn more: https://www.rutacastor.org/portfolio-1/sembrando-humedad

March 9, 2024

In this engaging discussion, William and Jaklin will delve into the intricacies of their respective works, exploring the intersectionality that arises when their artistic endeavors overlap with both of them using their body in many of their works. They will articulate their perspectives on expanding the artistic canon, delving into the common threads that bind their work while also acknowledging the unique elements that set them apart. The urgency of their contributions within the contemporary and photographic historical contexts will be a focal point, offering valuable insights into the dynamic evolution of their practices. Guiding this insightful conversation will be Joseph Daniel Valencia, curator at the Vincent Price Museum, ensuring a nuanced and enriching exploration of the artists’ respective creative landscapes.⁠

Video Recording: https://www.facebook.com/pieterperformance/videos/244349912082801