On the Side of Angels: Latina Lesbian Activism

Opening June 21, 2025, the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center (CSRC) in collaboration with Vincent Price Art Museum (VPAM) at East Los Angeles College (ELAC) proudly presents On the Side of Angels: Latina Lesbian Activism.

The new exhibition presents selections from the archival collections of prominent Latina lesbians, narrating their involvement in LGBTQ+, immigrant, labor, and housing justice movements from the 1980s through the late 2000s.

Featuring materials from the CSRC, the exhibition includes photography, posters, magazines, and video footage from the collections of policy and civil rights advocate Laura Esquivel, tenant rights attorney Elena Popp, and archivist, herstorian, and former CSRC librarian Yolanda Retter Vargas. While the materials on view primarily reflect Los Angeles-based activism, they also reveal how local organizing was often in active dialogue with broader national and transnational movements.

Please note: The museum will be closed during regular operating hours on Saturday, June 21 in preparation for the exhibition’s opening reception.