Immigrants’ art exhibit opens in Harlem

The first in a series of Immigrants’ Art Exhibits opened July 10 at the Rio II Gallery in Harlem, in a beautiful ceremony complete with music, refreshments and opportunities to meet the artists. The show will be open there until July 24. It will then move to Arts Horizons LeRoy Neiman Art Center, also in Harlem, for another two weeks.

The show is a remarkable mix of work by dozens of artists from across Latin America, Africa and Asia. The opening was also graced by the hypnotic music of Chilean guitarist Pancho and stirring comments by leaders of Mujeres Trabajadoras por la Paz (Working Women for Peace), based at La Peña del Bronx. The hosts encouraged guests to meet the artists and buy their work–and take it home when the show ends later this month.

Victor Toro, a founder of the Chilean Revolutionary Left Movement (MIR) who is currently fighting deportation, spoke eloquently about the link between artistic expression and mass struggle for immigrant and workers’ rights. He and other speakers highlighted the critical need for legalization for between 12 and 20 million immigrants in the U.S. who lack official papers.

All who attended the gallery opening were asked to sign an open letter to President Barack Obama demanding a moratorium on Immigrant and Customs Enforcement raids, release of all immigrant detainees, and reunification of families divided because of detention. The letter calls for a “single-tiered, full and unconditional process for acquiring citizenship for all undocumented immigrants currently living in the U.S.”

It also demands full rights for workers regardless of immigrant status, no guest worker program, removal or demolition of the border fence on the U.S.-Mexico border, and a halt to state and local police or sheriffs acting as part of the immigration law enforcement system. Significantly, it also calls for migration services to be separated from the “national security” administration in the Department of Homeland Security and moved to the Department of Labor.

Much of the artwork on display powerfully dramatizes the anguish and suffering of immigrants, as well as their struggles. All of it is a testament to the powerful creative genius and rich cultural contributions of the growing immigrant population. The show is an example of how the flood of workers from other countries has immeasurably strengthened the working class and progressive movement in the U.S.

Sponsors include the May 1 Coalition for Worker and Immigrant Rights, Mujeres Trabajadoras por la Paz, Taller Experimental de Arte (Experimental Art Workshop), La Peña del Bronx, Arts Horizons, Rio II Gallery, The Shore Institute of the Contemporary Arts, and Rebel Díaz Arts Collective. For information contact [email protected] or call 212-568-2030, ext. 208.