While Chicken Corner was away in Boston, an email soft-landed in the box from Tod Tamberg of the L.A. Archdiocese with some clarifications regarding the sale of the building that is famous as the home of Self Help Graphics. Tamberg said the venerable arts organization is NOT being evicted.

Self Help Graphics is rather upset nonetheless, as expressed on their website (in a July 15 post as well as a passionate July 11 post).

Tamberg wrote:

I read your post at LAObserved referring to the Archdiocese and the sale of SHG.
I'm pasting the press statement from the Sisters of St. Francis of Mt. Alverno
that was released to media [on July 11].

There's a lot of misinformation that's been spread around about the sale
of the building. The most noxious claim is that the Archdiocese sold it to pay for
sexual abuse. Gloria Molina said that, and it ain't true. The settlement was
announced in July 2007. The list of Archdiocesan-owned properties to be sold was
compiled by that time. The Archdiocese did not own the SHG building in 2007, the
Sisters did. In 2008, the Sisters approached the Archdiocese to help them sell the
building.

Also, the fifth bullet point of the Sisters' statement below is also worthy
of note, considering that some have formed an impression that SHG is being evicted.
Not according to the Sisters or the new owners.

Press release text (in its entirety as received by Chicken Corner) after the jump:

PRESS STATEMENT

By Sister Carol Snyder, Provincial Minister of the Sisters of St. Francis-Mt. Alverno Regarding the Self Help Graphics and Art Building July 11, 2008

· For 29 years, the Sisters of St. Francis provided Self Help Graphics rent-free use of our building. It is now time for Self Help Graphics to stand as an independent organization.

· The sale of our building was initiated by the Sisters-not the LA Archdiocese- and has been discussed with Self Help Graphics for nearly three years.

· Self Help Graphics tried unsuccessfully twice in 2006 and 2007 to obtain grants to purchase the building under the California Cultural and Historical Endowment program.

· The building's new owners desire Self Help Graphics to remain as tenants in the building after December 31, 2008 with the payment of a reasonable rent.

· The Sisters of St. Francis believe that our available resources can best be used to serve the community of East Los Angeles by providing art scholarships in memory of Sister Karen Boccalero.

What? "Art scholarships?" No punk scholarships? You may recall that Sister Karen Boccalero is also something of a saint/patron for the East L.A. punk scene in the late 1970s/early '80s. She let Latino punks use Self Help Graphics' upstairs stage space for shows when the performers could not get bookings in Hollywood.

Meanwhile, here's a snippet of what SFG wrote on July 11 about the sale:

Over the last 24 hours elected officials, community leaders, artists and residents throughout Los Angeles expressed their outrage that the Los Angeles Catholic Archdiocese secretly sold the mosaic building that is home to Self Help Graphics & Art. After its founding by Catholic nun Sister Karen Boccalero more than 35 years ago, non-profit organization Self Help Graphics & Arts was notified that the Catholic Archdiocese sold the building to a private real estate and investment company. The organization had no knowledge of the sale or pending sale.

12:55 PM Thursday, July 24 2008 • Link •