Our many organized autonomous movements—like the Union de their entry into working class neighborhoods. Boyle Heights is under attack in the form of gentrification and therefore must be defended. support to tenants in crisis. Local residents and their organizing efforts Art gallerists and other gentrifying figures do not offer any resources to contribute to the self-determination of existing … this vision. also serving as headquarters for the OVAS (formerly Ovarian Psycos). Developers and real estate speculators have their eyes trained on the arrival of artists Their events, actions, and activities reflected a commitment to resistance to capitalism and patriarchy Defend Boyle Heights, a prominent anti-gentrification organization in Boyle Heights, posted its opposition on Twitter. Oct 20, 2017 - Anti-gentrification activists in Boyle Heights despise even their natural allies. Whether it’s Chinatown or West Adams, one community’s victory cannot be the catalyst for another’s “She walked into those cities,” says Leonardo Vilchis, director at Unión de Vecinos, a Defend Boyle Heights member, “and built solidarity for Boyle Heights while continuing to expand the movement against gentrification in the U.S.” 1.) gang violence, and police occupation. Short History of a Long Struggle, a collaborative work by organizers from Art gallerists and other gentrifying figures do not offer any resources to contribute to the self-determination of existing … Heights community. On a recent afternoon in Boyle Heights, affordable housing advocate Elizabeth Blaney gave me a 360 view of gentrification in the neighborhood. “Gentrification in Los Angeles has occurred clockwise, progressing from Silver Lake to Echo Park to Eagle Rock to Highland Park to Lincoln Heights and now Boyle Heights. As these different galleries have proven, they are themselves a large contribute to the self-determination of existing residents nor do they offer any tangible support to local neighbors. Art is an industry, and the way that it interacts with other industries—global Photo: Attendees listen to a presentation on the revolutionary movement against gentrification By Felipe Vera On January 4, the Los Angeles Incendiary Support Committee and Oxnard Revolutionary Study Group (OxRevStudy) held an anti-gentrification event in Oxnard, California. gallerists, the tech businesses that are moving into. directly to those doing the harm in the community. Vecinos Eastside Tenants Union, the. Gallery sources provided evidence of individuals who sought their patronage before turning against them via anonymous accounts on Instagram and other platforms. It is a result of deliberate actions and decisions, which can be changed, if we collectively You can read the Statement on the LAPD investigation from Defend Boyle Heights, an anti-gentrification group, here. investment and blue-chip galleries. By Matt Handocerdos Militants and supporters led by anti-gentrification coalition Defend Boyle Heights (DBH) disrupted a Metro and city-planned community meeting at Boyle Heights City Hall yesterday morning. A new coffee shop in Boyle Heights is the latest target of controversial group trying to fight gentrification, but not everyone agrees with the group's tactics. Sections of this page. Literally. “Want to know where a great place to invest in real estate will be five or 10 years from now? Share Tweet ... A group called “Defend Boyle Heights” has embraced these tactics. Anti-gentrification protests have recently focused on a new coffee shop in Boyle Heights. time, actively fought to quash that artistic expression so that they could replace it with art as commodity, art as The gallerists targeting Boyle Heights may think their economy is benign, but they But to anti-gentrification activists, the Nicodims are the face of unwanted change. In 2016 the residents of the Pico Aliso public housing in Boyle Heights together with a coalition of neighborhood groups began calling for a boycott against gentrifying businesses in Boyle Heights. community into one designed for and populated by wealthier classes—you will find a distinct pattern: gives this advice: As part of planning director Calvin Hamilton’s citizen-planning efforts, Community Plans were rolled out throughout … “catalyst” for the “artsy coffee shops and small bars opening up.” His spokesperson Rick Coca One unique characteristic of this anti-gentrification movement in Boyle Heights, as well as in other parts of the city, is the strong involvement of institutionally-trained artists, graduates of prominent art schools who are equipped to use the language of arts but are pushing towards radical practice that breaks down institutional arts, especially as they are tied to a … of gentrification in Boyle Heights involves the racial banishment of long-time residents by attracting real But Defend Boyle Heights and its ilk aren’t publishing white papers or … A single family Only the light selling vanity goods that are utterly mismatched to the buying power and material needs of the long-neglected As BHAAAD’s “Short History of a Long Struggle” explained, the Boyle Heights warehouse district, complexes. Gentrification battles in Boyle Heights have attracted nationwide media. On a nondescript street corner near the freeway, Blaney points out the tower of an old, Art Deco Sears Department store , and tells me that the building will soon be market-rate, luxury apartments. Gimbrone declined an interview request, saying only that he was “still processing all that happened”. support to tenants in crisis. This process of gentrification in Boyle Heights involves the racial banishment of long-time residents by Still, we must also be wary of the potential for businesses to leave one area only to find another Throughout the first half of the twentieth century, Boyle Heights was one of the only places in Los Angeles where people of color were allowed to purchase property as a result of city-wide racist housing covenants. Last month, someone scrawled an obscene reference to “white art” on the gallery’s metal screen door. Chris Kraus, the film-maker and author of I Love Dick, recently cancelled a planned reading of her latest book at the 356 Mission gallery after activists threatened to disrupt the event. This process of gentrification in Boyle Heights involves the racial banishment of long-time residents by attracting real estate speculators to use the existence of art galleries, tech spaces and media spaces to attract high-income & wealthy property owners. One declined to respond, the other denied wrongdoing. Gimbrone and Cohen closed Pssst in February, citing “constant attacks” and “highly personal” harassment, without identifying the sources. In turn, Community members were always confident in their efforts to fight back against art Boyle Heights. Desarmando Desarrollismo: Listening to Anti-Gentrification in Boyle Heights. They also hosted a speaker from Defend Boyle Heights (DBH), a revolutionary anti-gentrification … movement based in the neighborhood's rich history of ethnic diversity, rich culture and art”—yet at the same In Boyle Heights, officials have dreamed of bringing private investment and wealthier residents to the First Street The unified resistance of this community is powerful enough to move mountains, and will prove itself powerful enough to … For nearly 20 years, urban planners and developers have religiously believed that the only way for poor communities to opposite of what many art galleries would bring to the neighborhood. “It’s all so weirdly interconnected. Heights residents led their fight directly to those doing the harm in the community. for economic development and lead to the revitalization of First Street.” Huizar later called it the COALITION STATEMENTS. The Guardian put the allegations to two alleged trolls. This space has always been run as an autonomous community center and a brave space, A laundromat, a day care center, a local corner market — all of these If you trace the steps of gentrification—the conversion of a working class 62 likes. Today, the fight continues against new and remaining gentrifiers that move into the warehouse district of Boyle attracting real estate speculators to use the existence of art galleries, tech spaces and media spaces to attract Gentrification”, Community members were always confident in their efforts to fight back against art Surging property prices have displaced Latino communities across east LA, prompting fear that Boyle Heights is next, with the arrival of about a dozen galleries potentially acting as a bridgehead for developers to swoop in. “Bullying and intimidation are opposed to the very values of the work we publish.”. INTRODUCTION: non-profit developers, land-bankers and gallerists—to reconsider their collective role in the future of Los “People’s basic need for shelter is being taken from them. But at the same time, there’s a way of doing that. Boyle Heights once was seen as the Ellis Island of the west coast. Accessibility Help. The gallerists currently targeting Boyle Heights may think their economy is benign for now, but they are banking on that Flip of the Coin that will grow careers and cash from the flipping of disinvested warehouses and low-income apartment complexes in Boyle Heights. Elizabeth Blaney, co-founder of Union de Vecinos, a community group in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, priced out of homes around Mariachi Plaza, Defend Boyle Heights from Defend Boyle Heights, This article was amended on 20 October 2017. The mock eviction notice was addressed to many celebrities, including the Coen brothers, Wes Anderson and “others of Beverly Hills.” Attacking Self Help Graphics legitimises them – it has everything to do with their professional positioning.”, Hipster-bashing in California: angry residents fight back against gentrification, Artwashing: the new watchword for anti-gentrification protesters. “That’s a racist critique because it makes invisible the labour of people like myself. Some of those appear to be using the banner of defending Boyle Heights to attack former friends and colleagues in LA’s arts community. Boyle Heights has long been known as a bustling, Latino enclave on Los Angeles’ eastside. and entities that seek to undermine organized These artists are trying to usurp that. plans to demolish the 1214 E. 1st St. property and turn it into a gallery space. puzzle piece in the wave of real estate speculation and commodification that is attempting to gentrify Boyle Heights Anti-gentrification activism isn’t novel either. dismiss the community’s concerns andexistence in favor of their own conveniences. “Those were my colleagues and friends who were making these big mistakes and causing displacement,” O’Brien said via email. dismiss the community’s concerns andexistence in favor of their own conveniences. take direct action. They also hosted a speaker from Defend Boyle Heights (DBH), a revolutionary anti-gentrification organization based in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Boyle Heights. But we also made it for ourselves and our community—to The struggle for housing in LA will now face a wave of further ferocious battles were fought over this land, with history, justice and community deployed as Protesters were out in full force today with a message for their neighbors. Boyle Heights is a hardscrabble, overwhelmingly Latino community which sits across the Los Angeles river from the lofts and skyscrapers of downtown. As these different “But, by doing so, they commodify the struggle and make a mockery of it!”. It shouldn’t be a place of contention. Now, their target is a coffee shop Now, their target is a coffee shop July 19, 2017 06:00PM sophisticated city of the 21st century, in which a tourist from Hong Kong or Paris might think nothing of HOW PROFITEERS BROUGHT ARTWASHING TO BOYLE HEIGHTS: Most are people who have struggled in their own art career. In October 2016, Campbell significantly raised the rent at La Conxa to around $1,500 per month. In 2009, then-Councilmember José Huizar Menu Close. “It is very unfortunate that I lost my friendships with Jules and Barnett … however, I stand proudly in the position I have taken on artwashing and will continue to challenge my colleagues, graduate school professors and friends as they participate in displacing people from their homes with their art careers. Several prominent protesters have or had personal ties to targeted gallery owners and artists. The unified resistance of this community is powerful enough to move mountains, and will prove itself powerful enough to … the world cannot stop the blunt mechanisms of urban real-estate speculation. neighborhoods. Two of the shop owners are white and one is Salvadorian. while also building community strength and unity in Boyle Heights.Their energy, contributions, and vision were the exact survive was by chasing after the "creative class"-young, mostly white professionals in the arts, media, and tech In doing this, we commit ourselves in protecting our community by any means necessary, which means that outsiders should not be made to feel safe. 8 talking about this. galleries have proven, they are themselves a large puzzle piece in the wave of real estate speculation and galleries and their real estate speculation. The area where “arts-related” businesses are granted tax exemptions and flexibility in zoning. galleries and their real estate speculation. continue to fight the next wave of gentrification with invaluable takeaways and distinct experiences in fighting artists are living now.”. began transplanting to was La Conxa. All the progressive intentions in 3.) The above quote only cements the threat that these art galleries to exploit. capital into disinvested spaces. Art is an industry, and the way that it interacts with other industries—global The anti-gentrification struggle in Boyle Heights makes abundantly clear to us the Maoist principle that has been instrumental in guiding our work: the masses of people, and the masses of people alone, are the motive force in the making of world history. During an anti-gentrification protest, community protesters entered a gallery event and posted mock eviction notices for galleries. home in the rear half of the property has remained empty, too, since a family there was displaced in 2016. Others have also targeted Latino artists and not-for-profit organisations from Boyle Heights, accusing them of being shills for invading capitalists. task force to develop the district. Current debates regarding gentrification in Boyle Heights, then, bring barrio residents’ longstanding concerns over displacement into the present day. In reality, public art and creativity have always thrived in Boyle Heights; capitalists simply haven’t noticed it he Los Angeles neighbourhood of Boyle Heights has become a. Senterfitt, an Aids researcher with a PhD from Yale, recently moved to Boyle Heights. “Who are they? “Vida” focuses on two estranged sisters who return to their hometown of Boyle heights after their mother dies, and find themselves becoming targets of local anti-gentrification … Short History of a Long Struggle, a collaborative work by organizers from We are new and old friends who find ourselves at the intersection of multiple overlapping struggles. art—successfully shut gentrifying businesses down, marking the first steps in reclaiming their space for the people. Until the task force was established, the city had banned all mural painting in Boyle Heights. Anti-gentrification activists in the United States and Europe have studied Boyle Heights, a cradle of the Chicano movement, as a potential model. It is one vision of the future, which particular groups and individuals in government and Gentrification is not an inevitable future. Boyle Heights. Rosales declined to comment on who targeted her, saying only in a joint statement with Matt Wolf, the director of a documentary about her, that the situation in Boyle Heights was “much more nuanced and complex” than the “community versus the galleries”. business are working to make a reality. Their struggle and labor is the reason this neighborhood is now seen as a “safe” place for Anti-gentrification activists already shut down a gallery in Boyle Heights. Boyle Heights Alianza Anti Artwashing y Desplazamiento. community into one designed for and populated by wealthier classes—you will find a distinct pattern: It is seriously doubted whether there is a single block in the area which does not contain detrimental racial elements." Data to explore the history of the struggle over that site, as told by those on the front lines of the ongoing battle of Angeles. initiatives to remake Boyle Heights in their image. This project is a compilation of maps, artifacts and narratives on galleries detailing the ongoing fight against the Women of Pico Aliso, Union de Vecinos, and Boyle Heights Alliance Against Artwashing & Displacement. It’s ludicrous and insulting to all they’re doing.” She said all those targeted by Defend Boyle Heights were gentrifiers or enablers. Read the full piece, “The galleries moving to South Anderson Street are part of a globalized and But we also made it for ourselves and our community—to project, funded through a $10 million grant from LA Metro and strategically placed to brighten up their new rail line. One of the owners of Weird Wave Coffee tells CBSLA some didn’t offer the warmest welcome when his shop opened here over a month ago. The opening of LA Metro’s Gold Line stations were part and parcel of the effort to drive white money into commodification that is attempting to gentrify Boyle Heights and other Los Angeles neighborhoods. … We are hopeful that in the coming years, with the … The city exploited the community’s organic traditions, claiming that its task force would uplift “an arts It is a result of deliberate actions and decisions. I really don’t support the tactics that some of the anti-gentrification groups have used in Boyle Heights. Angel Luna, a Latino activist who is from Boyle Heights, rejected any suggestion that outsiders had hijacked the resistance. these commodities attract high-income earners & wealthy property owners who have proven time and again to coating of concrete dust on that tourist’s shoes will suggest that this was once something else, that In 2016 the residents of the Pico Aliso public housing in Boyle Heights together with a coalition of … announced multi-million-dollar plans to attract art galleries to the area. The OVAS, their members, and community aligned non-profit developers, land-bankers and gallerists—to reconsider their collective role in the future of Los pressure and speculation by city and private developers — no doubt some will once again use art and gallery space as trekking to Chimento Contemporary and paying $20,000 for one of its artistic offerings. violence, environmental racism, and institutional disinvestment. history, culture, and community of Boyle Heights. Anti-gentrification activists in the United States and Europe have studied Boyle Heights, a cradle of the Chicano movement, as a potential model. need, but to serve “visitors to the 1st Street Arts District.” As more of the creative class opened up shop in Boyle Heights, the national elite began to take note and glorify The friendship soured and O’Brien joined a campaign against the gallery. unused since the OVAS were displaced, but recently some have seen private events taking place there. This anti-gentrification organizing has roots in earlier struggles and past conflicts over space, race and development in the neighborhood. The plan to gentrify Boyle Heights was born in a university. Bloomberg gives this advice: the warehouse district of Boyle Heights, as well as against the landlords,LAPD, and ICE in Boyle Heights. “Gentefied is clearly trying to latch onto the popularity the anti gentrification struggle has countrywide,” the Twitter post reads. “We’re encouraging more murals; it’s going to be a great arts district once we’re done,” Almost all stakeholders agree gentrification poses a threat to existing residents, especially renters. community networks of support as we see in local autonomous spaces and tenant union associations. potential evictions when LA’s moratoriums expire. She said the threat to Boyle Heights justified robust tactics. business are working to make a reality. The struggle against different art gallery owners is just one story of how Boyle Heights residents led their fight Kean O’Brien, an artist who taught a course called Decolonization and Deconstruction at California State University, Long Beach, was a close friend of Jules Gimbrone and Barnett Cohen, who founded Pssst, a not-for-profit gallery. This process of gentrification in Boyle Heights involves the racial banishment of long-time residents by attracting real estate speculators to use the existence of art galleries, tech spaces and media spaces to attract high-income & wealthy property owners. as the moment to start accumulating property. The tactics – rallies, threats, boycotts, confrontations, smashed windows, graffiti saying “fuck white art” – are controversial and effective: one gallery has fled, others are nervous and have cancelled or moved events. The business are behind the vandalism highly personal ” harassment, without identifying sources... 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