Cheech Marin’s passion for art started when he was a child.

“Learning about art, appreciating art and going to museums has always been a part of my life since I was 9 years old,” Marin said.

This passion led him to venture into the world of art collecting. Marin, as well as being a comedian, is an activist and advocate for Chicano art.

The Chicano legend has been collecting artwork from various Chicano artists since the 1980s. After amassing a large personal collection, he toured across the U.S. with an exhibition called “Chicano Visions: American Painters on the Verge.”

This extensive experience taught him what it takes to be a museum owner.

“It’s a thing that was thrust upon me,” Marin said.

The tour got recognition from many, according to Marin, including Riverside’s city manager John A. Russo, who was in office from 2015 to 2018. Russo came to him to offer the recently closed downtown Riverside library building to display his collection, Marin explained. He couldn’t believe it.

“So, I jumped off the cliff,” he said.

For the past three years, the Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art and Culture has curated a variety of collections that highlight Chicano culture from a multitude of perspectives. Works from the “Chicano Visions” tour and from Marin’s personal collection have continued to be on display.

The museum also started the series, Cheech Collects, as one of the first exhibitions since the opening in 2022. The first collection featured works that had never been displayed from artists as far back as 40 years ago to recent emerging artists.

Earlier this year, the center announced the newest collection of this series, called “Cheech Collects IV,” which will be on display from June 7, 2025 to May 3, 2026.

Marin’s commitment to his mission of creating a center for Chicano expression through paintings, sculptures, photography and many more mediums continues in his recent collection.

The pieces included in the collection feature artists such as Wayne Alaniz Healy and Perry Vásquez.

María Esther Fernández, artistic director at The Cheech, worked closely with Marin to choose pieces for display and to confide in him for advice when developing the artistic vision of each collection.

“We’re caretakers as curators,” Fernández said. “One of the things is that you do it with love.”

A piece showcased at the museum that hit her at her core is Judithe Hernández’s pastel piece, “Juárez Quinceañera.” The artwork showcases femicides, the term for violence against women that results in murder, that takes place on the U.S.-Mexico border.

Other depictions of violence against Chicano culture, between one’s community or through law enforcement, can be seen throughout the museum’s artwork.

“It is the position that they put the Chicano community in,” Marin said. “This is what we think of you, this is your place in society and we’re determining that. [But] we have a counter narrative, it can be seen through pictures.”

The counter-narrative that Marin is referring to can be seen in “Dalé Shine” by Jesse E. Rodríguez. The tactile piece depicts cultural significance through a classic shoe and repurposed wood material from a Hispanic community dance hall.

This depiction of cultural pride is seen throughout The Cheech explicitly through pieces in the newest collection such as “Una tarde in Meoqui (An Afternoon in Meoqui)” by Wayne Alaniz Healy which presents family gathering around food.

While other works can be seen as more implicit such as Perry Vásquez’s vibrant artwork that is featured in the Fire Room of the museum, a very popular section among visitors.

His artistic journey started at a young age, sketching landscapes with comadres, which is the term he used for nuns in Spanish. Vásquez has never had difficulty with inspiration and dabbles in many mediums. His famous works of various depictions of palm trees on fire have spanned over 10 years. While his most recent work is woven blankets of landscaping fliers.

“I try to make art that feeds my curiosity, peaks my interest or satisfies an itch,” he said.

As an experienced artist, he values how The Cheech will make it a common occurrence for future generations to see Chicano art showcased in large fine art institutions.

“Their goal is to continue from generation to generation,” Vásquez said. “That creates a level of commitment at an institutional level that is what’s missing for a lot of Chicano artists.”

In the early stages of the establishment of the museum, they have continued to cater to the community with each exhibition.

“The final imprimatur of cultural acceptance is the establishment of a museum. It means it’s legit. So now we’re legit,” Marin said.