Always Running: Photography by Luis J. Rodriguez

Always Running: Photography by Luis J. Rodriguez
October 27 - December 11, 2025
Exhibition Reception: Saturday, November 1, 2025 from 5:00 - 8:00pm

This exhibition debuts the photography of renowned author, healer, activist, and advocate Luis J. Rodriguez to mark the 30th anniversary of his first memoir, Always Running: La Vida Loca, Gang Days in L.A. Born in 1954, Rodriguez grew up in Watts and the East Los Angeles area. His family faced poverty and discrimination, and he became a gang member and drug user at the age of twelve. Always Running, and several of his other works, chronicle his experiences with gang violence, addiction, recovery, and transformation. These photographs document the people and places that touched and influenced Rodriguez’s early life during the 1960s to 1980s. They capture the landscapes of San Gabriel Valley neighborhoods, youth culture, and street art – including murals Rodriguez produced.

Rodriguez is a major figure in Chicano literature and former Poet Laureate of Los Angeles (2014-16). He is founding editor of Tía Chucha Press, which was established in 1989. With his wife Trini Rodriguez and their brother in-law Enrqiue Sanchez, Rodriguez cofounded Tía Chucha’s Centro Cultural & Bookstore in the Northeast San Fernando Valley in 2001. The Centro provides a positive space for people to activate what we all share as human beings: The capacity to create, to imagine, and to express ourselves in an effort to improve the quality of life for our community members.

Curated by photographer and artist Noé Montes. Produced by Tía Chucha’s Centro Cultural.

This exhibition is made possible through the generous support of the Mike Curb College of Arts, Media, and Communication and an Anonymous Donor. Additional support provided by the Instructionally Related Activities Committee and Arts Council for CSUN.

Image: Luis J. Rodriguez, Lomas Tunnel, South San Gabriel, circa 1972. Archival pigment print, 20 x 24 inches.