The first official activity of the organization was an inaugural batik and silkscreen workshop that ended with a group exhibition. Participating artists paid a small fee and provided their own materials. Thus began the Self Help tradition of instructing budding artists in graphic arts techniques. Shortly thereafter, funds provided by the California Arts Council allowed the hiring of artists Peter Tovar, Michael Amescua, Fernando Amozorrutia, Carlos Bueno, Victor Du Bois, Jeff Gates, Linda Orozco, Jesse Rays, Carla Webber, Silvia Chavez, and Linda Vallejo as arts instructors. The first Day of the Dead Celebration in the USA began in 1974 at SHG.
