Labor Art: Chicana Art and Experience: Mujeres con Garbo (Women with Attitude):

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)
A colorful, stylized portrait of labor leader Dolores Huerta; a Chicana interpretation of Rosie the Riveter; these and more will be on display at the AFL-CIO as part of a new exhibit that examines the struggles of working Chicana women and celebrates the contributions of Chicana artists. Chicana art is a "complex cultural phenomenon" that has its roots "in a broader movement of Chicano/a art that emerged in the 1960s civil rights and labor struggles," says exhibit curator Rex Weil. "That movement emphasized artists' identification with a rich, complex fusion of indigenous, Spanish, Mexican and Anglo culture. Assertively political, it was fueled by a fervent desire to advance the rights of Mexican Americans and to preserve and promote their unique contributions to American culture." The exhibit features more than 30 prints, paintings and photographs by prominent Chicana artists, including Barbara Carrasco, Ester Hernández, Cecilia Concepción Alvarez, and many more, and will run through May 31 in the AFL-CIO lobby. Click here to view a slideshow of some of the works on display.