As San Bernardino’s arts ecosystem continues to grow, the Garcia Center for the Arts has emerged as a vital anchor, connecting artists, institutions, and community through collaboration and access. That role is on full display in Lens as Witness: Photography and Resistance, 1960–Now, a powerful exhibition developed in partnership with CSUSB Graduate Studio Art students and faculty, the Robert and Frances Fullerton Museum of Art (RAFFMA), and local arts leaders. The exhibition examines photography and video as tools of documentation, protest, and social justice.
In a recent conversation, Garcia Center Executive Director Michael Segura reflected on the Center’s mission, its collaboration with CSUSB, and the importance of sustaining creative spaces in the Inland Empire. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Jovanna Moya: For readers who may not be familiar with you or the Garcia Center for the Arts, can you start with an introduction?
Michael Segura: My name is Michael Segura. I’m the Executive Director of the Garcia Center, and I’ve been in this role for about nine months. Before that, I volunteered here while working as an artist in the community. Stepping into arts administration has allowed me to create opportunities for others working in arts and culture.
The Garcia Center was established in 2014 in what was once a dilapidated building. Ernie and Dottie Garcia saw its potential and secured the space from the Water District for one dollar a year for a hundred years. Ernie paid the hundred dollars up front, and the rest is history. Today, we’re focused on sustainable programming. We see ourselves as an arts and cultural incubator, supporting organizations as they find their footing, offering subsidized space, and creating access to the community.
Moya: How did the Lens as Witness collaboration with CSUSB come together?
Segura: I was born and raised in San Bernardino, and I’m a Cal State alum, so I’ve known many of the art faculty for years. Professor Nicole Scalissi reached out and said they were looking for a community partner and access to local artists. That’s something we have plenty of.
I’ve always appreciated working with Cal State because one of the big questions when I was a student was how to better connect the campus with the surrounding community. Some faculty have done that exceptionally well, especially in the art department, and this collaboration really reflects that effort.
Moya: In what ways does the Garcia Center support artists across the Inland Empire?
Segura: There’s a lot happening here. We run Mercado 536, an artist co-op that supports local artists as they build their businesses, and we’re launching an online platform to expand access and sales.
We also have a creative instructor program—a workforce development initiative that trains artists in pedagogy and connects them to teaching opportunities with local institutions. We’re building out shared resources as well, including a makerspace, print studio, and glass and ceramic studios.
Another key initiative is Creative Aid, which provides free art supplies to the community. We also offer sponsored space—if someone has a project but no funding, we can provide space at no cost.
CSUSB faculty have contributed in meaningful ways too. Professor Frankie Gutierrez helped bring in a zine library, and we house a significant art book collection donated by Louis Fox, a former art historian at San Bernardino Valley College. It’s an incredible resource.
Moya: What role did the Garcia Center play in bringing local artists into the exhibition?
Segura: I worked closely with Eric Severin from the Little Gallery of San Bernardino, along with Andrew Thompson from CSUSB. Between us, we have deep connections to artists across San Bernardino and the Inland Empire.
We started by asking: who do we know, and how can we be as inclusive and local as possible? From there, we considered the exhibition’s themes—political movements, police brutality, resistance—and identified artists whose work was already engaging those issues. It was a very intentional but organic process.
Moya: After seeing the exhibition come together, what stood out to you?
Segura: The work is incredible. Amy Zapata’s video installation is especially striking—there’s an eerie quality to it that reflects how much hasn’t changed over time. That’s the power of art: it exposes contradictions and forces us to confront what we’re still fighting against.
Sofia Figueroa’s The Warehouse Empire is powerful. Fabian Leon Torres’s protest photograph, especially the captured expression of the officer, is unforgettable. I’ve long admired Freddy Calderon’s work around immigration—Faith in the Streets documents a moment before ICE became as overtly violent as it is now, when those policies were just emerging.
These exhibitions are necessary. The artists are doing essential work. I’m grateful to the artists, the CSUSB team, and RAFFMA for making this happen.