Ovation TV, America’s premier arts network, has produced a 30-minute documentary special about Cheech Marin’s immense art collection. Ovation viewers will get an exclusive up-close look at his collection as he teams up with the Riverside Art Museum and the City of Riverside to open The Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture of the Riverside Art Museum on Saturday, June 18th. “The Cheech” will not only house the hundreds of artworks he is gifting to the Riverside Art Museum, but it will also be a cultural center to teach the community about this art form. Ovation TV will air the world television premiere of Cheech Marin’s Chicano Art Tour on Wednesday, June 15 @ 11PM ET. Today’s announcement was made by Scott Woodward, EVP of Programming and Production, Ovation TV.
Cheech Marin is not only an actor, director, and comedian; he also holds an impressive collection of Chicano art. Rising out of the Chicano protest movements of the late 60s and early 70s, this art has continued through the years and evolved into an enduring collective of painters, muralists, and sculptors who celebrate the spirit of Chicano art. The documentary special features exclusive interviews with Cheech Marin, Frank Romero (one of Los Four, an early group of Chicano artists), and artists Sonia Romero, the de la Torre brothers, Wayne Alaniz Healy, and Margaret Garcia.
In addition, a PSA featuring The Cheech will air nationally on Ovation TV.
“We are so pleased to be presenting this exclusive look at The Cheech ahead of its opening next month,” said Woodward. “Ovation remains dedicated to celebrating and supporting all forms of arts and culture, and the Chicano art movement is no exception. What Cheech has achieved is stunning; his Chicano art collection will be seen in-person in Southern California as well as across the country with Ovation’s footprint.”
Added Cheech Marin, “The Chicano school of art is the most long-lasting, the most widespread from coast to coast, and the most generational in its description of a culture. You cannot love or hate Chicano art unless you see it, and my goal was to get everybody to see it.”
“The creation of the Cheech Center for Chicano Art & Culture has been a labor of love. That this collection is in one place and can be seen and admired by the public is a win for art, artists, and art lovers,” said Paul Granillo, president of the Riverside Art Museum Board of Trustees.
The documentary special will also be available to stream for free in the Art House programming destination on the Ovation NOW app.