Thanks to everyone who came out for the Detention Exhibition opening reception earlier this month. There was a steady crowd of people from 6-10pm and the artwork provoked a lot of questions and discussion about detention practices and border policies, both current and proposed. Lindsay Marshall from the Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project spoke to the attendees about the history of the organization and what their mission of providing free legal counsel typically involves. I want to thank Lindsay for participating in the opening; it really enhanced the whole evening. In addition, we collected fifty dollars in the donation jar which, according to the Florence Project’s website, covers “the time for one staff attorney to provide one “know your rights” presentation to a group of forty detainees before their first court appearance and meet with each one individually to answer questions and screen them for relief.”. I am so glad that this exhibition could give back in that way; this could not have been possible without the involvement and incredible talents of all of the participating artists!
Here are a few images from the night:
Pancho Medina with his interactive sculpture installation, “Carmelita de las Flores Sin Papeles”
Simon Arizpe’s “Punch Bowl Solar Still”
Painting By Numbers 