CONstitutionX: Our Human Rights
The Box Gallery
811 Belvedere Road
West Palm Beach, Florida
September 28, 2019 - November 6, 2019
An exhibition and series of visual art presentations, theatrical performances, performance art, films, workshops, artists talks and video curated by
Rolando Chang Barrero, Daynalis Gonzalez, and Sonia Baez-Hernandez.
These art interventions address a range of narratives regarding immigration and our basic human rights. The inclusion of the varieties media included in this exhibition we hope extends the dialogue of what art and activism can and does look like when it merges. Its purpose and intent is to introduce, inform and educate the viewer of some of the most powerful work being created in the social justice arena and to share the issues and the experiences of the artists which shapes, not only their work, but their very lives.
All three are artist/curators have long established their presence in the the art world as leaders of social justice art with the purpose of showcasing and participating in a wide range of visual and performing art that aim to raise critical consciousness, build community, and motivate individuals to promote social change.
The exhibition opens on the anniversary date that The U.S. Congress voted to send the new Constitution of the United States to the state legislatures for their approval and closes on the anniversary of the election of Abraham Lincoln the author of The Emancipation Proclamation.
Artists in all media will unite to respond to the various "CONs" that have been revealed during the current political climate in the United States and perceived as a blatant disregard of our “X" basic guaranteed freedoms presented in the Constitution of The United States’ Bill of of Rights.
Special presentations by
Guatemalan Maya Center
In the 1980s, at the height of the Guatemalan genocide, many indigenous migrant workers were facing harassment from employers while struggling to find their place in a new home. The founders of the Guatemalan-Maya Center lobbied and advocated for the migrant community, gaining numerous victories throughout the past three decades, including securing special agricultural work visas for nearly 1,000,000 people.
Thanks to a grant from the Palm Beach County Health Department, The Guatemalan-Maya Center was officially incorporated in 1992. With just a staff of 5 and a van, we began driving mothers with limited access to the health services and prenatal care to their doctor visits - interpreting both language and culture.
Years later, we continue to accompany the immigrant communities of South Florida, and have expanded our programs to serve over 1,000 people each month from more than 28 different countries.
We Count!
a grassroots membership organization in Homestead, Florida, founded in 2006 and dedicated to promoting the rights and well-being of the immigrant community through education, support and collective action.
Help build the power of Latin American immigrants and farm workers in Homestead with a generous tax-deductible contribution in support of WeCount! Donations can be made at www.we-count.org.
Guatemalan Maya Center
In the 1980s, at the height of the Guatemalan genocide, many indigenous migrant workers were facing harassment from employers while struggling to find their place in a new home. The founders of the Guatemalan-Maya Center lobbied and advocated for the migrant community, gaining numerous victories throughout the past three decades, including securing special agricultural work visas for nearly 1,000,000 people.
Thanks to a grant from the Palm Beach County Health Department, The Guatemalan-Maya Center was officially incorporated in 1992. With just a staff of 5 and a van, we began driving mothers with limited access to the health services and prenatal care to their doctor visits - interpreting both language and culture.
Years later, we continue to accompany the immigrant communities of South Florida, and have expanded our programs to serve over 1,000 people each month from more than 28 different countries.
We Count!
a grassroots membership organization in Homestead, Florida, founded in 2006 and dedicated to promoting the rights and well-being of the immigrant community through education, support and collective action.
Help build the power of Latin American immigrants and farm workers in Homestead with a generous tax-deductible contribution in support of WeCount! Donations can be made at www.we-count.org.
Among the 24 international artists which are included are Rolando Chang Barrero (US), Lisu Vega (Venezuela), Muu Blanco (Venezuela), Donna Ruff , Diane khalo, Ruben Riviera Matos, Sonia Baez-Hernandez (D.R), Narciso Martinez (Mex.), Maria Lino (Cuba), Sunny Marquez (P.R.), Edouard Duval-Carrié (Haiti), Lisu Vega (Venezuela), Muu Blanco (Venezuela), Donna Ruff , Diane khalo, Ruben Riviera Matos, Izel Vargas, and others. Please scroll down for complete list of artists.
Artists List:
RODRIGO DORFMAM
This Taco Truck Kills Fascists (2018) | Rodrigo Dorfman in attendance
Rodrigo Dorfman (born 1967 in Santiago, Chile) is a multimedia award-winning filmmaker and producer living in Durham, North Carolina. He has worked with POV, HBO, Salma Hayek's Ventanazul and the BBC among others.
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AURORA MOLINA
Aurora Molina was born in La Havana, Cuba, in 1984. She emigrated to the United States at the age of sixteen, where she opted to pursue an education in art. Molina received her Associates of Arts in Visual Arts from Miami Dade College, a Bachelors in Fine Arts specializing in Mixed Media from Florida International University and Master Degree in Contemporary Art at the Universidad Europea de Madrid completed in 2009. She currently resides in Miami, Florida, where she works as a full time artist.
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DIANE KAHLO
Over a five-year period, I developed an installation of artwork that is a memorial to the thousands of girls and young women who have disappeared and often brutally murdered in Juárez, Mexico. My intent was to create a “sacred space” and a memorial wall of portraits of the victims. I painted portraits and built frames for more than 150 victims as well as created other large sculptures and paintings which made reference to Mexico’s indigenous roots to help memorialize these victims of feminicide (the murder of women because they are women).
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DONNA RUFF
DONNA RUFF BURNS, SLICES, AND SHREDS TO ILLUSTRATE REFUGEE, IMMIGRATION TURMOIL Excerpt from article in http://www.biscaynetimes.com
Written By Elisa Turner, BT Contributor |
| SEPTEMBER 2019 |
Permeating Ruff’s art is a passion for social justice. She’s active in the social justice network of her Miami Beach synagogue, Temple Beth Sholom. With network members, she demonstrated against the detaining of immigrant children at the Homestead Detention Center.
”No wonder her art is included in the exhibit “CONstitutionX: Our Human Rights,” opening September 28 at the Box Gallery, 811 Belvedere Rd., in West Palm Beach. “Box Gallery concentrates on socially conscious art,” says gallery owner and curator Rolando Chang Barrero. Ruff uses “new forms and traditional material, as well as imagery which is extremely powerful,” he adds. Her art “is one of the more perfect examples of work that should be seen today.”
”No wonder her art is included in the exhibit “CONstitutionX: Our Human Rights,” opening September 28 at the Box Gallery, 811 Belvedere Rd., in West Palm Beach. “Box Gallery concentrates on socially conscious art,” says gallery owner and curator Rolando Chang Barrero. Ruff uses “new forms and traditional material, as well as imagery which is extremely powerful,” he adds. Her art “is one of the more perfect examples of work that should be seen today.”
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EVELYN POLIZER
My art seeks to spark a conversation on subjects that touch me deeply, such as place, motherhood, breast cancer and the fragility of the natural environment. The relationship between the fibers I work with and the place where I was born evokes the comfort of belonging. Regardless of whether I am physically “here or there”, the question is always … but where do you come from?
Working in fiber art allows me to foster community , bringing people together to knit for different positive causes.
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JAHAIRA RIOS CAMPOS Y GALVEZ
Born in the village of Rancheria in Chinandega, Nicaragua, Jahaira Ríos Campos y Gálvez immigrated to the U.S. in 1979 with her parents fleeing the civil war. She is an alumna of New World School of the Arts High School. Jahaira received her B.F.A. from University of Florida and her M.F.A. from Barry University. She currently lives in Miami, Florida with her husband and four children and works at Perez Art Museum Miami (PAMM) as a Teaching Artist. As a teacher she has a passion to show others how art can enrich their lives and the understanding of the world around them. Her work as an artist stems from her desire to touch on difficult subjects in a way that provokes conversations and reflection.
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LISU VEGA
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MUU BLANCO
In 2014, Venezuelan artist Jose Antonio Blanco decided that enough was enough.
Known as Muu to his friends and fellow artists, Blanco took to the streets in Caracas to protest alongside thousands of other people in what would later become one of the most violent days in Venezuelan history: Students’ Day or Dia de los Estudiantes. The protests also coincided with the imprisonment of opposition leader, Leopoldo Lopez.
Dozens of young people were killed ... continue.
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SONIA BAEZ HERNANDEZ
Her art crosses boundaries from installations and performance arts to documentary to poetry. The work responds to issues of human rights, police brutality, embodiment (art healing), health disparities, biomedicine, medical deportation, climate change and the immigration detention deportation apparatus. Her interest in the arts allow her to expand the dialogue and awareness about social transformation, climate and racial justice and meditations about identity., gender... Please watch link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-kNliOvLww.
Sonia Baez-Hernandez (born 1958) is a Puerto-Dominican interdisciplinary artist. She works with a wider variety of media including drawing, painting, instillations, performance art, poetry, and filmmaking.
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ROLANDO CHANG BARRERO
Rolando Chang Barrero’s “School Supplies for a New Generation” makes another stark, strong statement as he lays a series of white printed tags and bags that may look like school supplies but are actually body bags. “School Supplies For the Next Generation” is meant to disturb the audience. “It should anger you and maybe shame you into action,” says Barrero. “These are not times that I am concerned about you, nor your response to my work! What you see is my response to the inaction of our country and the possibility of normalizing events that should not have occurred, but did, and may very well happen again.” - Florida Daily Post
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SANDRA PORTAL ANDREU
Sandra L. Portal-Andreu (Performance Artist/Choreographer/Educator) is a Miami native of Cuban/Colombian descent who began her dance experience at the Mirochnik Ballet Institute under the direction of Madelyn Alfonso. Later, she trained intensively in the Vaganova Technique with Ballet Master Vladimir Issaev. Under Issaev’s direction with the Arts Ballet Theater of South Florida, she performed as soloist in The Nutcracker, Le Corsaire, Ballet Concerto, and Suite of Waltzes No.1. She received an A.A. from New World School of the Arts, a B.F.A. in Dance from Florida State University, and a M.S. in Movement Sciences from Barry University.
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AIMEE PEREZ
Aimee Perez was born in Habana Cuba in 1955. She left for the United States when she was twelve with her family through the Freedom Flights and grew up in Miami in Cuban immigrant community. As a young adult she won the Gold Key Award in painting and several honorable mentions as she continued her pursuit of the arts during her college years. In 1989 she moved to Mexico City and continued painting and exhibiting with Cuban and Mexican artist.
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ALANDY MARTINEZ
XII Biennial of Havana / Photographer Artist/ Arts & Technoscience /
Intelligent Media/ Curatorial Assitance & Producer.
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DIANE ARRIETA
Mojado is a slang term meaning Wetback.(Someone who illegally enters the
U.S. by crossing the Rio Grande).
This photo is a reminder of the hardships my husband faced when trying to navigate the immigration system. He is now an American citizen but it was a long, arduous process. Depending on which country you are from, the rules change a bit. Not everyone who wants to become
a citizen is granted that privilege.
The United States helps fund wars in other countries to benefit their agenda and then are very slow or reluctant to help the people fleeing from violence, crime and other atrocities of war. -Diane Arrieta
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EDUARDO DUVAL-CARRE
Edouard Duval-Carrié’s work navigates the historically rich and culturally complex traditions that comprise a uniquely Caribbean perspective. Duval-Carrié’s recent works attend to themes of water, travel, and Francophone culture. For him, water becomes both a symbolic passage and a barrier – the means by which enslaved Africans were brought to the Caribbean and modern-day Haitians migrate to the United States. Both circumstances have been driven by capitalism, a force that occupies Duval-Carrié’s work materially and iconographically.
Edouard Duval Carrié is a contemporary artist and curator based in Miami, Florida. Born and raised in Haiti, Duval Carrié fled the regime of “Papa Doc” Duvalier as a teen ager and subsequently resided in locales as diverse as Puerto Rico, New York, Montreal, Paris and Miami. Parallels thus emerge between the artist’s cosmopolitan lifestyle and his artistic sensitivity toward the multifaceted identities that form his native Haiti. At heart, Duval Carrié is an educator: he challenges the viewer to make meaning of dense iconography derived from Caribbean history, politics, and religion. His mixed media works and installations present migrations and transformations, often human and spiritual. Recently the conceptual layering of Duval Carrié’s works has been further emphasized in his materials and through consistent attention to translucent and reflective mediums, such as glitter, glass, and resin. The introspective effects of these mediums transform his works into spatial interventions that implicate the viewer in their historicity.
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IGNACIO FONT
Ignacio Font was born of Cuban parents on the island of Puerto Rico, where he began his search as an artist. As a child, Ignacio always felt an outsider, not belonging to his family, neighborhood or school. At the age of 10, he visited New York with his family and felt a warm embrace when in front of a Jackson Pollock painting. A year later his family moved to Miami from Puerto Rico and the disjointed feeling he always had became an even greater contrast to the warm embrace of the Pollock painting. This disjointed feeling, coupled with the warm embrace, are the driving forces in his works.
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IZEL VARGAS
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MARIA LINO
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NARCISO MARTINEZ
“Before I decided to be political in my art, I would get critiques about how I was making statements that were too social and political, so I decided to embrace it,” said Martinez.
At the age of 20, Martinez moved to the United States to pursue better opportunities, as most immigrants do. Now at 39, Martinez is a drawing and painting major showcasing his art throughout the Cal State University Long Beach campus and the country.
“I grew up poor in Oaxaca. [My family’s] goal was to have enough to eat,” said Martinez. “We didn’t really have time to dream.”
Martinez’s artwork is a collection of portraits of agricultural workers painted or drawn on recycled produce boxes he collects from grocery stores who have thrown the boxes away. The majority of his pieces are done in charcoal pencils, ink wash, and oil paints.
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PETER EVERSOLL
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RICARDO LEVINS MORALES
Ricardo Levins Morales describes himself as a “healer and trickster organizer disguised as an artist.” He was born into the anti-colonial movement in his native Puerto Rico and was drawn into activism in Chicago when his family moved there in 1967.
Ricardo left high school early and worked in various industries, and over time began to use his art as part of his activism. This activism has included support work for the Black Panthers and Young Lords to participating in or acting in solidarity with farmers, environmental, labor, racial justice and peace movements.
Increasingly Ricardo sees his art and organizing practices as means to address individual, collective and historical trauma. He co-leads workshops on trauma and resilience for organizers as well as trainings on creative organizing, social justice strategy and sustainable activism, and mentors and supports young activists.
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RUBEN RIVERA MATOS
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SUNNY MARQUEZ
Experienced Art Teacher with a demonstrated history of working in the fine art industry. Strong education professional skilled in Photography, Printmaking, Logo Design, Microsoft Word, and Conceptual Art.
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ZONIA ZENA
Zonia Zena is a photo based artist born and living in Lima Peru. Her photographic work has evolved on the genre of portraiture with a documentary approach. She has been working on projects dealing with women and inmigration, family and her own interaction with her surroundings.
Zonia completed a Bacherlor’s degree in Fine Arts with concentration in Creative Photography and a Minor in Art History from New World School of the Arts in partnership with University of Florida. She is a member of Women Photograph.
