Cheech Marin is bringing Chicano art to the mainstream art world. After amassing over 700 pieces since the mid-1980s, his efforts have led to the creation of The Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture of the Riverside Art Museum, a regionally based, nationally focused art institution dedicated to Mexican-American artists. Told through perspectives of established artists and those who know him best, the film tells his journey from comedy icon to Chicano art advocate.
By Judy Shields
Riverside, California (The Hollywood Times) 10/02/2024
PBS SoCal, Southern California’s flagship PBS station, announced the return of the original Emmy® award-winning arts and culture series ARTBOUND. The fifteenth season of the one-hour documentary series kicks off with a look at the creation of a world-class art museum and education center dedicated to Mexican American artists – The Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture of the Riverside Art Museum (aka “The Cheech”) featuring interviews with actor and art collector Cheech Marin.
The new season of ARTBOUND will premiere with the documentary “The Cheech” on Fri., Oct. 4 at 8 p.m. PT on PBS SoCal and Wed., Oct. 9 at 9 p.m. on PBS SoCal Plus. Following the broadcast, each of the new ARTBOUND films will stream on the free PBS app. Members of PBS SoCal will get early access to stream select documentaries with PBS Passport starting Oct. 4.
It was a beautiful and warm Sunday afternoon when we arrived at The Box Riverside theater at 3635 Market Street Riverside, CA – located on the 2nd floor of the Fox Performing Arts Center) in Riverside. Once we got checked in and got our wristbands we took our seats in preparation of the documentary “The Cheech” screening and Q&A to follow. I have to say after watching this episode, it was awesome, it made me cry, laugh and I learned so much about Chicano art and being half Latina, it made me proud. I took art in school and learned the basics, but excelled in Old English and Calligraphy handwriting. I consider myself a great copy artist when it comes to painting on pumpkins. I have been doing that ever since I was seven years old and now 64! This is an episode you don’t want to miss. So much information about the Chicano movement and how art changed these artists lives and you will get to meet several of them in this episode.
It airs this Friday, October 4 at 8p.m. Date night for sure and family time as well. Who doesn’t like Cheech Marin and art too, so that is a WIN WIN!
I guarantee, after you see this episode, you will want to go see Cheech Marin’s museum “The Cheech”. So make your plans to go visit The Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture of the Riverside Art Museum.
The screening started with a welcome by the Mayor of Riverside Patricia Lock Dawson and introduction of the documentary by PBS SoCal Chief Content Officer Tamara Gould. The screening was followed by a Panel Discussion with iconic actor and art collector Cheech Marin, filmmaker Varda Bar-Kar and artist Cici Segura Gonzalez, moderated by Michael Govan, the CEO and Wallis Annenberg Director of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA).
Here are some photos of the Q&A:
It’s been a privilege to have been a part of many of the 15 seasons of ARTBOUND. I have to tell you they are always wonderful and full of information and then you come across one that truly peaks your curiosity because it involves a great comedic actor, who just happens to own the largest collection of Chicano art in the world, plus his art is close to where you live at a museum called “The Cheech” in Riverside. I consider myself lucky to have been part of the screening of ARTBOUND’s “The Cheech” episode and the Q&A that followed the screening. Here is a video of some of that Q&A. Enjoy:
The event celebrates 15 seasons of PBS SoCal’s award-winning arts and culture series ARTBOUND and will offer up a sneak peek of all five new episodes in the new season that debuts on October 4th.
We were lucky enough to say hello to Cheech and get a picture thanks to the PBS Communication staff:
Following the screening, the guests were invited to walk a block away to enjoy FREE entry to The Cheech (3581 Mission Inn Avenue, Riverside, CA 9250) courtesy of PBS SoCal. We made sure to take advance of this after meeting Cheech. Here are some photos we took of art that was featured in the documentary “The Cheech”. They also had some yummy looking cookies with “The Cheech” on them and cactus shaped ones as well.
PARKING INFORMATION
Please find a detailed parking map HERE of all downtown parking options. Parking for The Box theater is at Riverside Parking Garage 7 (3601 Market St, Riverside, CA 92501). The first 90 minutes are free and $1.25/hr. up to a daily maximum of $15. The theater does not validate. Also, metered street parking is FREE on Sundays.
Free metered street parking is also available along Mission Inn Ave one block away at The Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture of the Riverside Art Museum (3581 Mission Inn Avenue, Riverside, CA 92501). Lot parking is limited but available.
Don’t forget you can take the Riverside line Metrolink and it is not too far of a walk to visit “The Cheech” museum and spend the day hanging out in Riverside to see the Mission Inn as well. Click HERE for the Metrolink Schedules, just put in your staring location and Riverside Downtown for during the week or Saturday and Sunday, which have different schedules.
ARTBOUND is supported in part by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Department of Arts and Culture, the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, the Frieda Berlinski Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts and other generous institutional funders.
New episodes from the 15th season of ARTBOUND will premiere as follows (subject to change*):
“Blended Worlds: The Fusion of Art & Science at JPL” – Fri., Oct. 11 at 8 p.m. on PBS SoCal / Wed., Oct. 16 at 9 p.m. on PBS SoCal Plus
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) transforms science into awe-inspiring creative projects showing how a passion to explore space informs art and vice versa. Scientific advancements happening at JPL are taking the form of large-scale installations and unforgettable immersive experiences that help imagine better futures. The film includes a look at “Blended Worlds,” a featured exhibition part of Getty’s Pacific Standard Time (PST ART) initiative for 2025.
“Arts & Architecture: The Case Study House Program” – Fri., Oct. 18 at 8 p.m. on PBS SoCal / Wed., Oct. 23 at 9 p.m. on PBS SoCal Plus
West Coast Modernism took hold in Southern California when Arts & Architecture Magazine sponsored the “Case Study House” program. As one of the most significant architectural studies supporting experiments in Post WWII American residential architecture, it involved the commission of major architects that included Pierre Koenig, Richard Neutra and Charles Eames.
“Black Art: A Brockman Gallery Legacy” – Fri., Oct. 25 at 8 p.m. on PBS SoCal / Wed., Oct. 30 at 9 p.m. on PBS SoCal Plus
The Brockman Gallery in Leimert Park was the center of a community of Black artists from 1967-1990. Founded during the heyday of the Black Arts movement and two years after the Watts uprising, it would go on to feature artists that included Betye Saar, Noah Purifoy and John Outterbridge. The Brockman Gallery ushered in a new era of Black artists, helping them penetrate the mainstream art world.
“Nobuko Miyamoto: A Song in Movement” – Fri., Nov. 1 at 8 p.m. on PBS SoCal / Wed., Nov. 6 at 9 p.m. on PBS SoCal Plus
A new sweeping documentary follows the life of visionary musician, dancer and activist Nobuko Miyamoto. Featuring rare archival footage, the film tells the story of a changing community through one of its most beloved storytellers as she reflects on decades of groundbreaking cultural work and a life that has bridged coasts, industries, families and history.
ABOUT ARTBOUND
ARTBOUND is the award-winning series that captures the spirit of the arts and culture community in Southern California and beyond. The Original series explores and illuminates the cultural issues of our times, providing critical in-depth analysis of how arts and culture affect society. ARTBOUND recognizes the need for access to the arts, arts education and connecting local artists with audiences, and in fact, acts as Southern California’s largest stage. Utilizing public media as a space to find quality arts and culture programming, ARTBOUND reveals cultural touchstones that have shaped the fabric of the region’s communities and a nation whose story is indelibly linked to the arts.
ABOUT PBS SOCAL
PBS SoCal uses the power of public media for good, strengthening the civic fabric of Southern California and providing our community with an essential connection to a wider world. As a local, donor/member-supported non-profit organization, PBS SoCal manages 7 channels — including 2 primary broadcast channels, PBS SoCal and PBS SoCal Plus as well as 5 digital subchannels. With a commitment to make content available anytime and anywhere for free, PBS SoCal is reaches nearly 19M viewers in the region with programming that reflects the diversity of Southern California and showcases the full schedule of beloved and trusted PBS content spanning Education, News, Environment and Arts & Culture. PBS SoCal programming is available to viewers over-the-air, on all key streaming platforms via the free PBS App and PBS KIDS App. PBS SoCal also sparks the sharing of ideas at in-person cultural events and community conversations as well as prepares children for kindergarten and beyond by bringing bilingual, hands-on learning experiences to the community for free.
