Woodblock Printing and Native Plants

Artists River Tikwi Garza (Tongva) and Joel Garcia (Huichol) lead a free block printing workshop inspired by the flora and fauna of Kuruvungna Village Springs.

Since undergoing an extensive ecological restoration in 2021, hundreds of native plant species have been reintroduced at Kuruvungna. For centuries, the Tongva have used plants for food, ceremony, shelter, and basketry, and Kuruvungna Village Springs continues that tradition by making these plants available today.

For their hands-on artmaking workshop, Garza and Garcia will start the morning by sharing their own relationships to Kuruvungna and discussing the selection of plants represented in the block prints. Afterwards, you are invited to compose your own print using the designs created by Garza.

All materials, including paper and blank greeting cards, will be provided. All ages are welcome.

River Tikwi Garza is an interdisciplinary visual artist of Tongva and Mexican descent. He is a member of the Ti'at Society—a group dedicated to traditional Indigenous maritime culture. His work draws inspiration from this cultural background as well as graffiti, Mexican and low-rider culture. Through painting, muralism, and mixed-media works, his artwork often deals with issues around identity, memory, tradition, and a quest for what he describes as visual sovereignty (in response to his tribe's lack of federal recognition). His work has recently been shown at the Fowler Museum at UCLA, Oxy Arts, the Fullerton Museum Center, Descanso Gardens, and the Autry Museum of the American West.

Joel Garcia (Huichol) is an artist, arts administrator and cultural organizer with 20+ years of experience working locally and transnationally focusing on community-centered strategies. His approach is rooted in Indigenous-based forms of dialoguing and decision-making (non-hierarchical) that uplifts non-institutional expertise. Joel uses arts-based strategies such as printmaking, installations, creative action, and altar-making to raise awareness of issues facing underserved communities, youth, and other targeted populations. As a fellow of Monument Lab’s National Fellowship (’19) and current fellow (20-’21) of “Shaping the Past,” a partnership between the Goethe-Institut, Monument Lab and the German Federal Agency for Civic Education, he’s using altar-making as a means to create artistic programs to dialogue about memory and place. Currently, he's an Artist-In-Residence at the LA Cleantech Incubator.

He’s the co-founder of Meztli Projects, an Indigenous-based arts & culture collaborative centering indigeneity into the creative practice of Los Angeles. He served as Co-Director at Self Help Graphics & Art (‘10-’18), a nationally acclaimed arts organization founded in 1972 which helped nurture Chicano Art and Dia de los Muertos.

This program is part of Endless Wellspring, a series of free public programs co-presented by Los Angeles Nomadic Division (LAND) and the Gabrielino-Tongva Springs Foundation at Kuruvungna Village Springs.

Meaning “a place where we are in the sun,” Kuruvungna is the site of a natural spring and an ancestral Tongva village in Tovaangar, present-day Los Angeles. Stewarded by the Gabrielino-Tongva Springs Foundation, the two-acres of land features ponds, gardens, and a cultural center dedicated to the life and history of the Tongva people.

In recent years, the Springs has undergone immense ecological restoration through a collective community effort to care for and maintain the sacred site. Reflecting that work, Endless Wellspring is centered around the theme of regeneration, bringing together Native artists and educators to engage with the natural elements and ongoing life and history of Kuruvungna. From hands-on art making workshops to performances, and garden tours, we look forward to seeing you at the Springs this summer.

Endless Wellspring is organized by Mercedes Dorame, artist and Gabrielino-Tongva Springs Foundation board member, and Christopher Mangum-James, LAND deputy director, with support from artist and scholar Lili Flores Aguilar.

This series is made possible in part by the LA County Department of Arts and Culture as part of Creative Recovery LA, an initiative funded by the American Rescue Plan. Generous support provided by Art of Recovery, an initiative of the City of Santa Monica Cultural Affairs, and the West Los Angeles Sawtelle Neighborhood Council through a Neighborhood Purpose Grant. Special thanks to Walton Chiu.

Graphic by Jimena Gamio.