Our Crowdfunding Groups
We are proud to share that we have reached our initial goal of raising $10,000 for the exhibition José Montoya's Abundant Harvest. Thank you to all of our generous supporters! Additional funds are still needed to fully realize this important exhibition, offer free arts education opportunities to local K-12 students, and host a variety of public programs building Chicano cultural awareness. We urge folks to continue to make contributions through midnight on December 1 (Giving Tuesday) to ensure the highest quality presentation of José Montoya's Abundant Harvest and the widest possible audience.
The Fowler’s upcoming exhibition José Montoya’s Abundant Harvest: Works on Paper/Works on Life (on view Feb. 21–July 17, 2016) will feature drawings by the noted Chicano poet, artist, and activist who captured the spirit of California in the mid-20th century and some of the most significant civil rights movements of the times.
This exhibition will offer audiences the opportunity to learn more about José Montoya and the central role he and other artists played in the Chicano Movement. Today, their art reminds us of this significant moment in American history and the persistence of immigrant rights issues. You can help the Fowler bring this important project to UCLA, along with complementary public and educational programs to build awareness of Chicano arts and cultural history. Read on to learn more and take part!
To celebrate the art and activism of José Montoya, the Fowler will organize the largest retrospective to date of Montoya’s works on paper and develop a rich array of public programs and educational outreach initiatives for diverse audiences of all ages.
On February 21, 2016, the exhibition will open to the public with a celebratory event including the co-curators—playwright/filmmaker Richard Montoya and independent curator Selene Preciado—and other special guests. In the spring of 2016 the Fowler will collaborate with Cornerstone Theater Company to develop a site-specific performance at the Museum which will include excerpts from prior productions and poems by José Montoya. Following the performance, Richard Montoya and fellow members of Culture Clash, Cornerstone and other Latino theater organizations will discuss activist theater in the Central Valley.
Cornerstone Performance Ryman Arts Students
As part of the Fowler's School Visit Program, we will provide free bus transportation for K-12 students from underserved schools to visit the Museum, have educator-led tours of Abundant Harvest, and participate in exhibition-related art-making activities. We also plan to collaborate with the local non-profit Ryman Arts on drawing workshops for inner-city high school students and envision that José's drawings will inspire reflections on identity, the rights of workers, and connections with home and place.
To make this vision a reality, we are partnering with UCLA Spark to raise $10,000 by December 1!
Be a part of this exciting project by contributing to the Abundant Harvest Exhibition Fund with a gift of $10 or more before December 1. Your important donation will directly contribute to realizing the exhibition and offering free public and educational programs. Your gift will support the following components of the project:
Abundant Harvest Exhibition Production:
Public and Educational Programs:
Fowler's K-12 School Visit Program:
Chicano activist, poet, artist, teacher, and musician José Montoya (1932-2013) grew up in the San Joaquin Valley where he joined his father in the fields and gained a firsthand understanding of the harsh living conditions faced by migrant farm workers. These experiences informed his activism, his poetry, and his art. Montoya co-founded the Royal Chicano Air Force artists’ collective, which worked tirelessly in support of Cesar Chavez’s United Farm Workers movement to ensure fair labor standards.
Montoya's drawings—numbering in the thousands—drew inspiration from the verdant fields, farm towns, and port cities of post-war California and expressed affection for their inhabitants. Alive and pulsating with the rhythms of Beatnik-era California, Montoya’s drawings depicted pachucos and cholas, soldiers and sailors, campesinos and revolutionaries. An abundant harvest of characters occupied his drawings, snapshots of Montoya’s world, the field and the barrio, and a common Chicano history.
The exhibition José Montoya’s Abundant Harvest honors the life and work of this prolific artist in a comprehensive survey to include nearly 2,000 drawings along with poems and other ephemera. Fowler staff and the exhibition’s co-curators have chosen to display the drawings in boxes that evoke the grape trays used to hold the Central Valley’s harvest. The boxes will stand in long rows like grapevines in a vineyard, allowing visitors to walk freely among them.
In thanks for your support, at various levels you’ll receive some super cool perks like:
We are grateful for the encouragement and support of our generous partners to help promote Chicano cultural awareness, the Abundant Harvest exhibition and the Fowler Museum at UCLA.
Thank you for your heartfelt gifts to our crowdfunding campaign. Your donations directly contribute to our efforts to bring this exhibition to greater audiences.
Please also help us share this project on social media via Facebook, Instagram and Twitter using #AbundantHarvest and encourage your friends and family to join you in supporting the Fowler Museum.
Remember to come visit us! Admission to the Fowler is always free to all.
José Montoya’s Abundant Harvest: Works on Paper/Works on Life is organized by the Fowler Museum at UCLA and co-curated by playwright and filmmaker Richard Montoya and independent curator Selene Preciado.
*As is the practice of other museums across the nation, raising funds for exhibitions occurs concurrently with their planning and preparation.
All pictured drawings by José Montoya, ink, pencil, or crayon on paper, courtesy of the Montoya Family Trust. Copyright 2015 Fowler Museum at UCLA, All rights reserved.
Thanks for supporting our shared California history and heritage! As a thank you for donating, we will give you a shout out on Twitter. (Your $10 gift is fully tax-deductible)
Donations like this never go out of style! You'll get a shout out on Twitter and Facebook, plus a 15% discount on a first purchase with Out of the Box Collective. (Your $25 gift is fully tax-deductible)
You're igniting the campaign! Grab a friend and attend a special reception with the curators Richard Montoya and Selene Preciado. ($45 of your contribution is tax-deductible)
Year-long Individual Membership to the Fowler Museum. (Already a member? Gift your membership to a friend!) You'll also receive preferred seating at the Cornerstone performance and panel discussion. ($80 of your contribution is tax-deductible)
You're one of a kind! Receive a limited-edition tote bag printed with an original José Montoya drawing, and we will acknowledge your contribution on our website. ($220 of your contribution is tax-deductible)
Receive all of the above perks and a copy of the "Abundant Harvest" publication signed by the curators. ($440 of your contribution is tax-deductible)
All of the above perks, plus a private tour of the exhibition with co-curator Richard Montoya. ($940 of your contribution is tax-deductible)
We will honor your generous donation by including your name on the exhibition title wall. You'll receive all of the above perks, plus a free produce box from Out of the Box Collective with fresh, organic produce from their favorite farmers and recipes from local chefs. ($2,365 of your contribution is tax-deductible)
Your incredible support will provide invaluable resources for developing the exhibition. You will receive all of the above perks, plus an honorary Fowler Manus Membership for one year. ($4,675 of your contribution is tax-deductible)