Central will welcome the works of Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer José Galvez to the Mills Gallery from Oct. 4-15 as a celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month.
Galvez also will host a virtual presentation at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 12, in the gallery. His black and white photography documents the Latino experience in the United States over the past 40 years.
“I am creating an historical record: the long view of what Latino life has been like across the United States over the decades,” Galvez says. “Through photographs taken at various times in a multitude of places, but all here in this country, I have been studying our behavior. How do new immigrants adapt? How do their children navigate a bilingual, bicultural existence? How do their grandchildren display their American-ness with a tense mixture of social savvy and longing for the past?”
A newspaper photographer for more than 20 years, Galvez was a member of a team of reporters and photographers at the Los Angeles Times who won a Pulitzer Prize in Community Service for a series on the Latino experience in Southern California.
Galvez served as senior photo editor and contributor to “Americanos,” a multi-media exhibition documenting Latino life in the United States led by Edward James Olmos. Galvez’s latest book, “Shine Boy,” combines his life story with photographs he shot over the years.
Galvez’s photographs have been exhibited in countless museums and galleries here and abroad, including the Smithsonian Institution. But more often, his photographs can be found in portable exhibits he takes to schools, libraries, fiestas, lowrider shows and rodeos. He has spoken at dozens of colleges and universities over the past 16 years.
“We are excited to be able to exhibit José Galvez’s photographs at Central and meet him on Zoom during Hispanic Heritage Month,” says Ally Krogstad, professor of Spanish at Central. “He has spent decades documenting the Latino experience in the U.S. and has a wealth of knowledge, in words and images, to share with us.”
The Mills Gallery is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Photo by José Galvez©