As spring temperatures begin to rise, the debate around immigrant rights has also started heating up in Washington, D.C. Hopes have been renewed that Spring will bring reform to U.S. immigration policy. But current proposals for increasing border militarization and establishing a guest worker program, rather than providing amnesty, indicate that the battle is far from over.
Last year proved to be another dramatic chapter in the struggle for immigrant rights. In 2012 the Obama Administration once again broke its own deportation record from the previous year—surpassing 400,000 deportations. Immigrant rights activists responded by organizing for the Trust Act, launching the Undocubus, and staging DREAMer sit-ins at Obama campaign offices.
Artists played an integral role in all of these actions by capturing the resilience, resistance, and dignity of immigrant communities. Two national arts groups, CultureStrike and Justseeds Artist’ Cooperative, have joined forces to release a portfolio of handmade screenprint and letterpress prints that includes many of these artistic responses. A year in the making, the portfolio consists of 37original prints by 38 different artists.
Justseeds Artists’ Cooperative is a network of artists committed to making art that reflects a radical social and political stance. CultureStrike is an artist-led initiative that seeks to shift the national imagination around immigration through collaborations between artists, writers and other cultural workers.
Participating artists include: Emory Douglas, former minister of culture for the Black Panther Party, Undocumented DREAM Act agitators Julio Salgado and Felipe Baeza and renowned street artist El Mac. A number of the artists are based in the Bay Area, such as Melanie Cervantes and Jesus Barraza of Dignidad Rebelde, Imin Yeh, Fernando Martí, Art Hazelwood, Oree Originol, Claude Moller and Favianna Rodriguez.
The Center for Political Education will present the portfolio at 518 Valencia: The Eric Quezada Center for Culture and Politics. The gallery opening will celebrate the creative power emerging from the immigrant rights movement with performances by poet Erika Viviana-Cespedes and Phoenix-based hip-hop duo Shining Soul. The closing reception will feature a panel discussion exploring the prospects of current organizing for immigrant rights on the local and national levels.
Gallery Location: 518 Valencia St. (at 16th St.), San Francisco. Opening Reception: Thursday, Feb. 21 6 p.m.-10 p.m. Closing Reception: Thursday, Feb. 28 6 p.m.-10pm. Contact center@politicaleducation.org for more information about gallery or visit http://migrationnow.com to purchase prints.