On View Now

Gateway: An Artistic Response to the Immigration Crisis

September 5th- 30th

Art for Change, is pleased to present “Gateway: An Artistic Response to the Immigration Crisis”, a group exhibition showcasing artworks by international and national artists Patricia Cazorla, Esperanza Cortes, Aissa H. Deebi, Roberto De Jesus, Laura F. Gibellini, Marissa A. Gutiérrez- Vicario, Alejandro Endoke Makuendo Guzman, Gabriel Pacheco, Tara Parsons, Michael Pribich, Elisa Pritzker, Gabriel Reese, Christina Stahr, The Border Project and Nancy Saleme, with a special installation by Michael Sherman. Evolving from Art for Change’s 3rd Annual Hacia Afuera Public Arts Festival held on August 28-29, this exhibit will be on display through the end of September at the Harlem Gateway II Building on Lexington Avenue and 126th Street. Through drawings, sculptures, and site-specific installations, artists explore historical and contemporary narratives within immigration, including: acculturation; gentrification; economic inequality; discrimination and racism; the “culture of exile” and plight of refugees; immigration policies, regulations and reform; and the controversial roles played by politicians, activist groups, and privatized media.

Artists trace the path of immigrants beginning with Deebi’s “Don’t You Forget About Me (Hope/Amal)” an installation of 1000 paper nightingales that embodies the inspirational journey of global migration. The relationships, dreams, hopes, and cultural values that support the voyage are given a voice within Parsons’ bed installation, “Up All Night Sleeping,” which invites viewers to express their own intimate stories. Gutiérrez-Vicario’s reconstructed container unit, “Storage” focuses on the plight of refugees and the issues of forced displacement and survival that they endure. Pritzker’s cardboard “Immigrant Suitcases” underscore the profound loss immigrants experience in leaving behind personal relationships and memory-laden objects. De Jesus’ “Main Course Cargo, [Vamos Allá]” sculpture of disposable, detergent bottle-caps highlights the commoditization in human trafficking that treats people as import / export merchandise. Pacheco’s “Shadows: Immigration, Migration and Transportation” drawings open a dialogue on the reasons that drive people to migrate and the current public policies and human rights issues that they confront globally. Pribich’s installation, “Ladder of Success,” utilizes stepladders, brass tubing and chains to honor the contributions of blue-collar street laborers as well as acknowledge the idealized and often unattainable promise within the “American Dream” and the harsh reality of immigrant workers in the US. Collaborating artists, Cazorla and Saleme specifically address the consequences of the recent immigration laws in Arizona on migrant workers in their site-specific mixed media mural, “DeFence.” Gibellini’s site specific mural, “(In) Habitation I” explores the politics of “space” and “place” negotiating the physical and psychological aspects of acculturation built into immigrants’ daily lives through adaptation and integration. In “El Guaraguao en El Barrio,” Guzman takes on a shamanistic role, encompassing himself in a mountain of locally found objects while holding a taxidermy red tail hawk indigenous to both New York and Puerto Rico for a performance that celebrates cultural differences while underscoring our shared history and humanity. Cortes and Reese document and memorialize the priceless legacies of immigrants, specifically in East Harlem. During Hacia Afuera, Cortes interviewed and photographed elder immigrants about their experiences in “Esperanzas en el Jardin de las Esperanzas,” while Reese’s painting “American Rose” pays homage to the cyclical, cross-cultural nature and dynamic beauty of the American Barrio as a haven for immigrants, offering hope and opportunity amid alienation. Stahr welcomes visitors to walk along her “Red Tape Labyrinth” in order to reflect upon the concept of “passage,” the process of migration and states of transience. Students from The Border Project share their perspective of living in the present-day cultural and political borders of Arizona, Mexico, and the Tohono O’odham Indian Reservation.

Michael Sherman’s “Tree Screens” installation at Harlem Gateway II draws further on themes of acculturation, employing used cardboard found at nearby construction sites and brown paper often used to cover vacant retail windows to shape a pattern of abstract trees, accentuating the aesthetic characteristics of the materials and emerging organically from the space. Sherman’s installation transforms a vacant space into something unique and beautiful without any outside materials, metaphorically speaking to the way immigrants arrive at a new, unfamiliar place with minimal material possessions, and transform the existing area into a beautifully unique neighborhood laden with culture. Sherman’s permanent “Tree Screen” wall mural on 125th Street and 5th Avenue similarly draws on the inherent aesthetic qualities of the existing brick wall, employing techniques used in building restoration to bring to the surface a design arising genuinely from the building itself in a discreet and non-infringing way. In their greatest sense, the immigrant experience as told through all the artworks in the exhibition highlights concepts of sustainability of our society’s long-term potential, dependent upon responsible use of resources and balancing the disruptive relationship between both humans and their environment, and among humans with each other. By engaging artists as a voice for social justice, “Gateway: An Artistic Response to the Immigration Crisis” hopes to both challenge and inspire individuals, families, local communities, greater society and government in working together towards fair and ethical immigration reform.

This exhibition illustrates Art for Change’s commitment to providing a forum for people to engage in critical analysis around social issues affecting our communities. While New York City, East Harlem in particular, offers one of the most diverse populations in the U.S., immigrants here still suffer from a stalled and dysfunctional immigration system rife with injustice and inefficiency. With little action being taken in Washington and an ever-alarming escalation of anti-immigrant sentiment, Art for Change has launched an immigration campaign at its 3rd Annual Hacia Afuera Public Arts Festival to increase awareness of the plight of immigrants while redirecting the current rhetoric of criminalization. Based out of East Harlem, Art for Change is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing a forum for creating innovative art and media programs that inspire people to take an active role in social justice.

“Gateway: An Artistic Response to the Immigration Crisis” is presented as part of Art for Change’s exhibition program “Art Belongs to Everyone” funded in part by the Department of Cultural Affairs and Lower Manhattan Cultural Council. The exhibition, which will also incorporate workshops, lectures and film screenings, will extend through the end of September thanks to the generous space donation from ddm development and services, which returned to life a 30-year vacant corner with Harlem Gateway II, a six-story office, retail, and assisted living residence – a recycling story in itself! ddm development and services is a long-time community developer in Harlem, converting vacant lots into garden oases and creating affordable housing, public schools, and mixed-use buildings with beautification projects and artwork, such as artist Michael Sherman’s “Tree Screens,” and Erin Furey’s hand-painted tree on plywood and local florist Colin Abraham’s “Pollen Nation” tree-branch display in the Harlem Gateway II lobby, all reflecting appreciation of preserving historic buildings, recycling of materials, use of found objects, and delight in trees. The building also features white-cardboard wall covering made of recycled wood products and a green roof allowing every raindrop to support new growth and not flow down the drain.