"Keep Families Together: Coloring Project " 2018, Screen Printed Banners, intended to raise awareness of immigration rights and bring communities together.
2018- Keep Families Together- Community Coloring Project
This work was created as a reaction to the original 2551 children separated from their families after illegally crossing into the United States. The idea started with a drawing from my sketchbook of three children walking hand in hand. When I learned of the inhuman actions of the Zero Tolerance Policy, I multiplied the drawing into a tile of 30 children. This tile was exposed onto a silkscreen and printed 85 times across a 30-foot sheet of paper. The end result was a banner consisting of the 2551 children in contour line. The aesthetic looked like a giant coloring page. The repeated image of the children created a secondary image of tiny houses hidden between their arms. These houses have the aesthetic of a child-like drawing which makes the viewer question the relationship between the children and the idea of home.
I reached out to a local non-for-profit Gallery to host a community event. The event invited viewers to participate in the coloring of the banner to raise awareness and compassion for immigrants cruelly separated from their families. Participants colored the children and houses bringing symbolic light to the matter. Immigration Layers provided educational pamphlets on immigration rights for participants to learn more in the matter.
As the issue grew worse at the border, I continued to make banners. I began shipping them cross-country to Non-for-Profit organizations that agreed to host events. I was able to secure a University Grant which allowed me to travel to Nogales Arizona to partner with an organization that worked with refugees and detained children in Mexico. One of my banners was hung at a community festival in Nogales Mexico. This event was intended to bring the two border cities together in unity. The banner was colored by people from both sides of the border.
While in Mexico, I was able to visit a boarding facility where one of my banners was occupying children. While I was unable to communicate with the children due to language barriers, I was able to use my art as a means to communicate. I taught the children how to draw faces, did portraits of each of them, and was able to make them laugh. This experience reinforced my belief that art can be a catalyst for social change and understanding.
This work was created as a reaction to the original 2551 children separated from their families after illegally crossing into the United States. The idea started with a drawing from my sketchbook of three children walking hand in hand. When I learned of the inhuman actions of the Zero Tolerance Policy, I multiplied the drawing into a tile of 30 children. This tile was exposed onto a silkscreen and printed 85 times across a 30-foot sheet of paper. The end result was a banner consisting of the 2551 children in contour line. The aesthetic looked like a giant coloring page. The repeated image of the children created a secondary image of tiny houses hidden between their arms. These houses have the aesthetic of a child-like drawing which makes the viewer question the relationship between the children and the idea of home.
I reached out to a local non-for-profit Gallery to host a community event. The event invited viewers to participate in the coloring of the banner to raise awareness and compassion for immigrants cruelly separated from their families. Participants colored the children and houses bringing symbolic light to the matter. Immigration Layers provided educational pamphlets on immigration rights for participants to learn more in the matter.
As the issue grew worse at the border, I continued to make banners. I began shipping them cross-country to Non-for-Profit organizations that agreed to host events. I was able to secure a University Grant which allowed me to travel to Nogales Arizona to partner with an organization that worked with refugees and detained children in Mexico. One of my banners was hung at a community festival in Nogales Mexico. This event was intended to bring the two border cities together in unity. The banner was colored by people from both sides of the border.
While in Mexico, I was able to visit a boarding facility where one of my banners was occupying children. While I was unable to communicate with the children due to language barriers, I was able to use my art as a means to communicate. I taught the children how to draw faces, did portraits of each of them, and was able to make them laugh. This experience reinforced my belief that art can be a catalyst for social change and understanding.
"Keep Families Together: Coloring Project" was hosted by non-for- profit in Richmond VA, to Seattle WA, Portland Oregon, Nogales, Mexico. Special thanks to the Sediment Gallery, Vibe of Portland, UHeights, BYTE, the Beyond The Wall Festival , Albergue Border Youth Alliance Shelters and Border Community Alliance
