Resources > Bay Area and National Resources

Lectures and Conferences

World Affairs Council of Northern California a non-profit, non-partisan educational organization devoted to engaging the public in a discussion of the trans-national issues of tomorrow. It serves its 10,000 members and the general public throughout Northern California and around the globe. The Council presents more than 200 events each year to discuss world issues with chief executives of countries and companies, officers of state, legislators, regulators, authors, journalists, educators, and scientists of widely varied disciplines from around the world. The Council's Education Program provides teachers with international studies resources and information.

World Affairs Council of Northern California
312 Sutter St, Suite 200, San Francisco, CA 94108
(415) 293-4600
Fax: 415.982.5028

Pan American Society of California is a non-profit organization, headquartered in San Francisco. The Society is an independent association that strives to be a clearinghouse for viewpoints on its neighbors, with an emphasis on Latin American affairs by providing members and the local community with events covering a wide range of interests, including political, economic, and social issues, without aligning itself with particular ideologies or factions.

Pan American Society of California
601 California Street
Suite 615, San Francisco, CA 94108
(415) 788-4764
panamsoc@aol.com

Modern Times Bookstore stands at the cultural crossroads of the Mission District in San Francisco. Its mission is to "encourage a critical consciousness in the face of political deceit and misdirection, and to foster human sympathy and understanding in the face of the hatreds and irrationalities that permeate contemporary politics." Past readings related to Latin America have included Rita Arditti's presentation of Searching for Life, a testimony to the Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo's pursuit of justice in the aftermath of Argentina's "dirty war;" and readings by Chicano writers Elba Rosarío Sánchez, Chuy Quintero, Manuel Velez, Olga Angelina García Echeverría and others from Raza Spoken Here--an eclectic mix of voices from the barrios of Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco.

Modern Times Bookstore
888 Valencia Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 282-9246
mtbs@igc.org

Peninsula Peace and Justice Center (PPJC) is dedicated to ¯building coalitions among progressive organizations" to fight a broad range of issues, including U.S. military intervention, NAFTA, and the death penalty. The Center seeks to accomplish their mission through education (hosting renown speakers such as Noam Chomsky, Dr. Helen Caldicott, and Michael Parenti, visiting activists from around the globe), information (publishing a semi-monthly newsletter, PeaceWORKS, analyzing current events, and background papers on a variety of topics, and action (organizing demonstrations, petition campaigns and vigils; and meeting with elected leaders and other opinion makers).

Peninsula Peace and Justice Center Events
457 Kingsley Avenue
Palo Alto, CA 9430
(650) 326-8837
Fax: 650.321.4464

The Arts

Teatro Vision is one of the oldest and most established Chicano-Latino theater companies. It offers contemporary and classic Chicano-Latino plays that often address public policy issues, for theater-goers who appreciate a unique cultural experience and for Latinos who want an entertainment alternative that is reflective of their own lives.

www.teatrovision.org

Balazo Gallery/Misión Badlands operates as a fully self-supported artist cooperative that ¯strives to showcase exciting local artists with an emphasis on Latino art. Particular interest is paid to Chicano, Pop, Contemporary, Tattoo, Outsider, Lowbrow and Prison Art.

Balazo Gallery/ Mission Badland
2811 Mission St.
San Francisco, CA
(415) 920-0896

Instituto Mexicano de Cultura

870 Market Street
Suite 515
San Francisco, CA
(415) 393-800

Mexican Museum is a first voice institution that utilizes Latino cultural expression as a lens for examining parallel experiences shared by the many cultural communities that constitute the Americas. The museum's permanent collection holds more than 9,000 objects in the following five areas: Pre-Hispanic Art, Colonial Art, Folk Art, Mexican Fine Art, and Mexican American/Chicano Fine Art

Mexican Museum
Fort Mason Center, Building D
San Francisco, CA
(415) 441-0445

Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts (MCCLA) was established in 1977 by artists and community activists with a shared vision to promote, preserve, and develop the Latino cultural arts that reflect the living tradition and experiences of Chicano, Central and South American, and Caribbean people. The MCCLA makes the arts accessible as an essential element to community development and well-being. As a community non-profit arts organization, MCCLA prides itself in enriching, in a most unique way, the cultural and artistic life of the Mission, San Francisco, and Bay Area residents as well.

Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts
2868 Mission St. (between 24th and 25th
San Francisco, CA
(415) 821-1155

Precita Eyes Mural Arts Center showcases the art of mural making in a workshop and offers affordable art materials. Since 1977, this non-profit organization has been coordinating and designing commissioned murals like many of those on building facades around the Bay Area, especially concentrated in San Francisco's Mission neighborhood.

Precita Eyes Mural Center
348 Precita Ave. (at Folsom)
San Francisco, CA
(415) 285-2287

Proyecto Cultural ENCUENTROS is a a cultural project comprised of 25 Salvadorean writers, artists, and cultural workers, living in El Salvador and the U.S. who are "committed to promoting and exposing the arts and literature of El Salvador through the fostering and facilitation of cultural exchange.î This cultural project acts as a liaison between U.S. and Salvadorean writers, artist,s and institutions, and offers a program that includes the lectures, literary presentations, workshops and events related to cultural and artistic exchange.

Proyecto Cultural ENCUENTROS
40 Sears St.
San Francisco, CA
(415) 586-2120

San Francisco Craft and Folk Art Museum features exhibitions on contemporary craft, 20th century folk art and traditional ethnic art from all over the world, including Latin America. The museum's mission is to "foster an appreciation of the artistic qualities of contemporary craft and the recognition of the vigor and richness of folk art from diverse cultures through exhibitions, educational programs and research publications.î In addition to exhibitions, the museum offers slide lectures, workshops, and visits to relevant private collections.

San Francisco Craft & Folk Art Museum
Landmark Building A, Fort Mason Center
San Francisco, CA
(415) 775-0990

San Jose Center for Latin Arts coordinates with the Movimiento de Arte y Cultura Latino Americana, Inc. (MACLA), to offer a variety of art programs year-round, including visual art exhibitions, folk arts workshops, and several art education programs. MACLA's mission is "to promote, preserve, and enhance the Latino multidisciplinary arts, show casing regional, national, and international artists in programs for San Jose and the surrounding Bay area communities.î

San Jose Center for Latino Arts
510 South First Street
San Jose, CA
(408) 998-2783