How the Cheech Marin museum in Riverside will celebrate its first anniversary

It’s become a local treasure for Riverside, exceeding attendance goals and drawing visitors from all over the United States as well as Mexico, Europe and South America who come to see its collection of more than 500 pieces of Chicano art.

The Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture of the Riverside Art Museum will be marking its one-year anniversary with a trio of new exhibits, a concert and free festival on June 17-18. An invitation-only event is set for June 16.

“It’s exceedingly exciting and it’s affirming to everyone who believed in the potential of the Center and we just want to celebrate with everyone who loves the Center,” said Drew Oberjuerge the executive director of the Riverside Art Museum and The Cheech.

Created by actor Cheech Marin to showcase his extensive Chicano art collection, which in previous interviews he has described as a mixture of Mexican art, world art and pop culture that rose from the 1960s protests.

The museum opened on June 18, 2022 and since then has exceeded attendance expectations by about 30%, drawing more than 127,000 visitors in its first year while fulfilling its lofty goals.

“It’s uplifting the contributions of Chicano artists to the American art cannon and its reaffirming the lived experience of Chicano/Latino community in the United States. They can see their lives reflected and their culture reflected in the paintings on the wall,” Oberjuerge said.

The public anniversary celebration begins on June 17 with a 7 p.m. concert by Grammy Award-winning bands Quetzal and La Santa Cecilia a show titled “Music From Below: A History and Future of Chicano Music” at the Riverside Municipal Auditorium.

The party continues on July 18 with a free festival dubbed “Pura Pachanga (Party) at The Cheech.”

It’s taking place along Mission Inn Avenue between The Cheech and the Riverside Art Museum from Lime to Orange streets.

The noon to 7 p.m. celebration will include artisan and food vendors as well as a busy musical lineup that includes Coachella veterans and Inland Empire locals Quitapenas headlining the show.

While tickets to the museum are already sold out for the weekend, the anniversary celebration will include three new exhibitions which will be on display for a while. They include “Xican-a.o.x. Body,” which is made up of more than 125 artworks by about 70 artists who focused on how Chicanx artists have placed the brown body at the center of their works. It runs through January and includes films, paintings, photography, pottery, sculpture and other mediums.

Another anniversary exhibit  is “Cheech Collects,” a collection of about 90 pieces mostly collected by Marin himself. That runs through May.

The final birthday exhibit is “Origenes/Origins,” which features the work of artists who use their personal histories as inspiration for their art. It runs through this October.

“These are artists that have a link to the Inland Empire. Perhaps they grew up here. maybe they live here and it just reflects the complexity of the Inland Empire,” she said. “It’s going to be just a huge celebration, a pachanga for the Center.”

Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture

Where: 3581 Mission Inn Ave., Riverside

When: 7-10 p.m. June 17 for concert at the Riverside Municipal Auditorium, 3485 Mission Inn Ave.; Noon- 7 p.m. June 18 for the festival outside of the museum.

Tickets: Concert tickets start at $32 at 951-684-7111 or riversideartmuseum.org. Festival admission is free.