Magnolia Park Arts & Community is born

MPAC received its official tax exempt status as a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit entity in 2020, following about four years of grassroots activity by artist Jesse Rodriguez aka Magnolia Grown.

It all started in November, 2017, when Jesse fulfilled his childhood vision of exhibiting his artwork in the historic YWCA building in Magnolia Park. The building owner generously supported the project and Jesse transformed the shuttered building into an art gallery exhibiting his own works.

The community responded overwhelmingly to the first ever gallery exhibit in Magnolia Park. 500 people attended and nearly 5000 followed on social media. The event earned media coverage and attention from the art world. Chicano art collector Cheech Marin came from California to check it out.

A year later, Jesse was invited to participate in the 6th Latino Art Now! conference hosted by the University of Houston and the Inter-University Program for Latino Research. Instead of using the opportunity to show his own art, he curated a show of works by legendary Hispanic artists with roots in Magnolia Park: Leo Tanguma, Daniel Lechon, and Mario Gonzales. The events galvanized a neglected community—Residents began stopping Jesse in the street to tell their stories, offer archival photos, show their historic building, and invite Jesse to visit with family members to ensure their stories lived on. Local Hispanic scholars and other leaders encouraged him.

With this track record of success and a substantial public following, Jesse founded Magnolia Park Arts & Community (MPAC) to engage Houston’s oldest Hispanic neighborhood through inclusive arts and culture programs and to help others give to Magnolia Park, too.

You can join us to be part of the excitement as we build programs and events that celebrate and serve Magnolia Park.

Jesse Rodriguez and Cheech Marin with Jesse’s “Dalé Shine” sculpture.