Aquarium Partners with Tongva Artist

A collaboration with Tongva illustrator adds to the story in the reimagined Southern California Gallery

A photo of "Tongva Universe" displayed in the SoCal Gallery

November 27, 2023

The Aquarium of the Pacific has collaborated with Tongva artist Weshoyot Alvitre to create an art piece called Tongva Universe in our reimagined Southern California Gallery. Connecting Aquarium guests to Indigenous voices of the region, this art piece will utilize motifs from the Tongva culture and touch on local species of importance. The Tongva people continue to steward the land that includes Long Beach, where the Aquarium is located.

About Weshoyot Alvitre

woman with long hair sitting down in front of a large painting

Credit: Weshoyot Alvitre

Alvitre is a Tongva and Scottish comic book artist, writer, and illustrator. She grew up close to the land and raised with traditional knowledge that inspires the work she does today. Alvitre has been working in the comics medium for over fifteen years. Her work focuses on art and writing that visualizes historical material through an Indigenous lens. Her work will debut in the Southern California Gallery in early 2024.