http://migrationnow.com/

Jesus Barraza Jesus Barraza is an activist and printmaker based...

Fri, 09 Nov 2012 11:09:00 -0800

Jesus Barraza

Jesus Barraza is an activist and printmaker based in San Leandro, California. Using bold colors and high contrast images, his prints reflect both his local and global community and their resistance in a struggle to create a new world. Barraza has worked closely with numerous community organizations to create prints that visualize struggles for immigration rights, housing, education, and international solidarity. Printmaking has allowed Barraza to produce relevant images that can be put back into the hands of his community and spread throughout the world. He believes that through this work and the work of Dignidad Rebelde, he is playing a role in keeping the history of graphic art activism alive.

Barraza’s print was inspired by King Chango’s cover of Sting’s “Englishman in New York”, which was changed to “Venezuelan in New York”. “The print reflects the violence that immigrants deal with while entering and living in the United States; the harsh reality that comes with making the journey North to the country that promises work to those who can no longer survive in their homelands,” Barraza said.

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Artist website here.

Oscar Magallanes Oscar Magallanes was raised in an Azusa, CA...

Thu, 08 Nov 2012 11:27:00 -0800

Oscar Magallanes

Oscar Magallanes was raised in an Azusa, CA barrio. His artwork is influenced by the cultural and social elements of his upbringing. After a troubled youth, at the age of fifteen Magallanes was accepted into the Ryman Arts program, which he credits with encouraging him to become a professional artist. To date, Magallanes has had over 100 exhibitions, six of which were solo. He has also served as a board member for Ryman Arts, Self Help Graphics and Art, and he is a member of the Inner-City Arts Young Professionals Advisory Board. He continues to create and exhibit his artwork from his studio in Lincoln Heights.

Magallanes has spent many years painting the ubiquitous street vendor or the man selling fruit on the corner, the very same people he says have been scapegoated as “parasites sucking the economy dry. We are told this as we watch the bank bailouts. At least the street vendor is actually moving a product and puts money right back into the economy,” Magallanes said. “We need to think about the fair and equal treatment of all individuals, especially those who embody the American dream of coming to the U.S. to flee poverty and persecution, which is usually the result of failed U.S. foreign policy.”

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Artist website here.

Kristine Virsis Kristine Virsis is a printmaker currently living...

Wed, 07 Nov 2012 11:14:00 -0800

Kristine Virsis

Kristine Virsis is a printmaker currently living and working in New York. Her silkscreen prints, which begin as intricate paper-cuts and stencils, deal with the personal end of the political spectrum - creativity, self-sufficiency, nostalgia, as well as mental health and resiliency. She is a member of the Justseeds Artists’ Cooperative.

Virsis’ piece was inspired by a woman named Adama Bah, whose story she learned of through friend and filmmaker David Felix Suttecliffe and his documentary titled “Adama”. Virsis met with Adama to learn her story. She was arrested in 2005 at the age of 16 and endured many subsequent years of struggle coping with the trauma that ICE inflicted on her and her family. “Knowing how U.S. immigration policy and practice affects real people by hearing their personal stories is crucial to understanding the broad picture of immigration reform,” Virsis said.

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Artist website here.

Felipe BaezaOriginally from Guanajuato, Mexico, Felipe Baeza...

Tue, 06 Nov 2012 11:02:00 -0800

Felipe Baeza

Originally from Guanajuato, Mexico, Felipe Baeza currently lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. He received his BFA from The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art. His work has been featured in New York’s The New School, the International Print Center, and Meyerson Hall Gallery at the University of Pennsylvania. He is the recipient of the Michael S. Vivo Prize for Drawing and Keyholder Resident at the Lower East Side Printshop.

The undocumented youth movement has taken inspiration from the LGBTQ rights movement in encouraging undocumented youth to come out. “We’re queer undocumented youth, we can no longer afford to be in the closet either as gay or undocumented,” Baeza said. “We can no longer hide. We have the right to express our sexuality; we have right to remain here.” I have the right to feel human because I have the right to feel free in the country I call my home.” Baeza’s sense that heterosexual identity is a prerequisite to the pursuit of US citizenship has led him to assert that there is an inherent allegiance between the goals of the movements for both LGBTQ and immigrant rights, and that both are part of a larger struggle for universal human rights.

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Artist website here.

Roger Peet Roger Peet is an artist and printmaker currently...

Mon, 05 Nov 2012 11:29:00 -0800

Roger Peet

Roger Peet is an artist and printmaker currently living in Portland, Oregon. His work tends to focus on issues of ecology and violence, and on relations between the human and non-human realms. He is a member of the Justseeds Artists’ Cooperative and of Flight 64 printmaking studio.

Peet’s piece was inspired by his current obsession with the “apocalyptic carnage” of the cartel wars in Mexico, and the ways in which the violence has extended its reach into arcane corners of the natural and cultural world. “The cartels that have emerged to satisfy the stupendous level of U.S. drug demand have become some of the most terrifying purveyors of black magic and ritual butchery the world has ever known, and both the forests and peoples of Mexico and Central America are cut down before them,” Peet said. “Directly responsible for their rise are the hypocritical and racist policies that see drug use as personal delinquency instead of as an integral part of an exploitative economic superstructure. The nations of Central America have concluded that the drug war is a failure and they are moving towards decriminalization. Hopefully the U.S. will move before the mass graves are filled to the brim.”

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Artist website here.

Melanie Cervantes Melanie Cervantes aims to translate the hopes...

Sun, 04 Nov 2012 13:34:00 -0800

Melanie Cervantes

Melanie Cervantes aims to translate the hopes and dreams of justice movements into images that are life affirming and inspire people to take action. She is best known for her prolific production of political screen prints and posters. Employing vibrant colors and hand-drawn illustrations, her work moves those viewed as marginal to the center, featuring powerful youth, elders, women, and queer and indigenous peoples. With her partner and fellow printmaker Jesus Barraza, she formed Dignidad Rebelde, a collaborative graphic arts project that translates stories of struggle and resistance into artwork that can be put back into the hands of the communities who inspire it.
Cervantes has also partnered with Detention Watch Network to create a graphic campaign that will raise awareness about the impact mandatory detention has on communities and society as a whole.

This poster features Nazry Mustakim and his wife Hope. Mustakim, a 31-year-old green card holder from Singapore, was held in immigration detention for 10 months at the South Texas Detention Center in Pearsall, Texas. Due to laws passed in 1996, Mustakim’s prior drug conviction subjected him to mandatory detention, which meant that he could not be released on bond. After 10 months of hardship and unrelenting advocacy by Hope, his family, and community, he has been released from detention and is back home. Mustakim’s story is exemplary of the injustices immigrants face in detention every day.

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Artist website here.

Claude Moller Claude Moller is a community organizer and mixed...

Sat, 03 Nov 2012 10:35:00 -0700

Claude Moller

Claude Moller is a community organizer and mixed media artist who specializes in printmaking, mural art, and guerrilla PR. He is based in San Francisco, CA.

The piece “Deported for Jaywalking” was originally designed in 2011 for the San Francisco Immigrant Rights Defense Committee (SFIRDC), an alliance of immigrant rights advocates working to curb San Francisco youth deportations and stop the Secure Communities program, also known as S-Comm. S-Comm is a federal dragnet created by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to automatically investigate, detain, and deport undocumented citizens who have been arrested. “Deported for Jaywalking” was wheatpasted throughout San Francisco to publicize the SFIRDC and the design was reproduced on t-shirts worn by hundreds of SFIRDC activists during Bay Area demonstrations against S-Comm.

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Artist website here.

Santiago Armengod Santiago Armengod is an activist and artist...

Fri, 02 Nov 2012 11:28:00 -0700

Santiago Armengod

Santiago Armengod is an activist and artist who lives in Mexico, where he takes part in several collectives seeking social/political/environmental justice. His art is inspired by the work individuals and collectives do to free themselves of the noose around their necks. He is part of the`Justseeds Artists’ Cooperative and Escuela de Cultura Popular Martires del 68.

Armengod’s piece poses an important question: If global capital has free access across borders, why can’t human beings as well? “Millions of people migrate to first world countries seeking a more stable economy after their own regions have been stripped of economic means by the so-called developed world through free-trade treaties such as NAFTA,” Armengod said. “Immigrants are constantly targeted for violent attacks and as scapegoats for a lack of jobs and a decaying global economy, using xenophobia and racism to justify class inequities. Borders do not only affect populations of the third world, but have a negative impact on us all- plants, animals, and human beings of all ethnic background and nationalities. So end deportations now, tear down your borders.”

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Artist website here.

Emory Douglas Emory Douglas is a self-taught artist whose only...

Thu, 01 Nov 2012 13:22:00 -0700

Emory Douglas

Emory Douglas is a self-taught artist whose only professional training came from majoring in commercial art while attending City College of San Francisco in the 1960’s; all other art experience came from on-the-job training. Douglas was the Revolutionary Artist and Minister of Culture for The Black Panther Party from 1967-1981. He has had major exhibitions of his artwork in the U.S. and abroad and his work has been in major films, documentaries and publications worldwide. Douglas’ retrospective art book Black Panther: The Revolutionary Art of Emory Douglas was published by Rizzoli International in February of 2007 and has since been published in Japanese. Douglas continues to exhibit his work and lecture nationwide.

“Toxic Waste” highlights the toxic, racist nature of extreme anti-immigration policy and how it spreads nationwide.

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Artist website here.

Julio Salgado Julio Salgado is the co-founder of...

Wed, 31 Oct 2012 13:19:00 -0700

Julio Salgado

Julio Salgado is the co-founder of DreamersAdrift.com and his activist artwork has become a staple of the DREAM Act movement. His status as an undocumented, queer ‘artivist’ has fueled the contents of his illustrations, which depict key individuals and moments of the DREAM Act movement. Undocumented students and allies across the country have used Salgado’s artwork to call attention to youth-led movements and his work has been praised by OC Weekly’s Gustavo Arellano, KPCC-FM 89.3’s Multi-American blog, and the influential journal ColorLines. Salgado graduated from California State University, Long Beach with a degree in journalism.

Salgado’s image captures the one thing he believes keeps undocumented immigrants sane: their love for each other. “With words like illegal’ and ‘alien’, undocumented immigrants in this country are often dehumanized and the media doesn’t help by constantly portraying us as either criminals or perfect little immigrants,” Salgado said. “There is never a middle ground. I wanted this image to show the intersectionality of queer and immigrant communities by showcasing queer couples. After all, queer couples do not have the same rights as heterosexual couples.”

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Artist website here.

Diane OvalleDiane Ovalle is a Xicana single parent,...

Tue, 30 Oct 2012 10:38:00 -0700

Diane Ovalle

Diane Ovalle is a Xicana single parent, photographer, and migrant rights organizer.

Her 2010 photograph “Stop the Hate” was shot at a rally against Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

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Artist website here.

Molly Fair Molly Fair is an artist and archivist in Brooklyn,...

Mon, 29 Oct 2012 11:25:00 -0700

Molly Fair

Molly Fair is an artist and archivist in Brooklyn, NY. She is a member of Justseeds Artists’ Cooperative and Interference Archive.

Fair’s image calls for an end to the detention system and an end to the abuse of immigrants’ rights. With the proliferation of laws and enforcement policies that seek to criminalize immigrants in the U.S., immigration detention has become a fast growing form of incarceration. The for-profit detention industry is growing, in spite of the fact that detention facilities have been found to subject people to physical, psychological, and sexual abuse. ICE and its supporters continue to defend the substandard conditions of detention centers, denying that people’s human rights are being violated.

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Artist website here.

Ernesto Yerena Ernesto Yerena was born in El Centro, CA, a...

Sun, 28 Oct 2012 10:58:00 -0700

Ernesto Yerena

Ernesto Yerena was born in El Centro, CA, a mid-sized farming town bordering Mexicali, BC, MX. Fueled by his transnational upbringing, his art practice reflects his observations of the views and interactions between the Mexican communities living on both sides of the border. His work depicts his frustrations with the oppression in his community, as well as his interest in the defense of dignity and rights. Through his brazen imagery of cultural icons, rebels, and everyday people, he brings political concerns to light and voices his stance against oppression. In 2008 Yerena created the Hecho Con Ganas (hechoconganas.com) publishing project, which produces political images that are produced in limited edition silkscreen prints. Highly recognized for his activism, Yerena is the founder and curator of the Alto Arizona Art campaign (2010), as well as a founding member of the We Are Human campaign (2009). Yerena has collaborated on many thought-provoking projects with artists such as Zack de la Rocha, Shepard Fairey, Manu Chao, Ana Tijoux, Philip Lumbang, Jaque Fragua, Exist 1981, Diane Ovalle, Chuck D, and Mochilla.

Yerena’s piece represents the way in which the movement of migrants overall is something beautiful and dignified - an action that makes the world a more peaceful place.

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Artist website here.

Favianna Rodriguez Favianna Rodriguez is a transnational visual...

Sat, 27 Oct 2012 13:29:00 -0700

Favianna Rodriguez

Favianna Rodriguez is a transnational visual artist whose work depicts how women, migrants, and outsiders are affected by global politics, economic upheaval, patriarchy, and interdependence. She is a member of the Justseeds Artists’ Cooperative and is co-editor of Reproduce and Revolt!, a royalty-free image library for activists. In 2009, Rodriguez co-founded Presente.org, a national online organizing network dedicated to the political empowerment of Latino communities. Her recent poster “The World vs. The 1%” was featured in the Occupy Wall Street Journal.

Rodriguez was inspired to develop this piece upon meeting members of the historic Caravan for Peace, a Trans-border group of mothers, fathers, children and families from Mexico who traveled around the United States to call attention to the violence in Mexico caused by the drug war. As of August 2012, more than 60,000 people have been killed in drug violence in Mexico, and over 160,000 have been displaced. The caravan was founded by poet Javier Sicilia, whose son Juan Francisco was murdered along with six friends in March of 2011. The caravan represents an unprecedented effort by Mexican civil society to impact U.S. thinking and policy, and this was precisely what inspired the artist to develop a piece celebrating this effort and calling for an end to the drug war.

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Artist website here.

Colin MatthesColin Matthes lives in Milwaukee, WI and works with...

Fri, 26 Oct 2012 10:51:00 -0700

Colin Matthes

Colin Matthes lives in Milwaukee, WI and works with Justseeds.

According to Matthes, when having conversations about immigration, the question “What is ICE?” kept coming up. His poster was created in hopes of answering that question while also showing solidarity with immigrant communities in the U.S. ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement), a federal law enforcement agency under the Department of Homeland Security, is a rogue agency responsible for abusing immigrant detainees, breaking up families, terrorizing children, and shackling pregnant women. Under the Obama administration ICE has been responsible for over 1 million immigrant detentions.

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Artist website here.

Meredith Stern Meredith Stern works with garden soil, linoleum,...

Thu, 25 Oct 2012 14:00:00 -0700

Meredith Stern

Meredith Stern works with garden soil, linoleum, clay, and drums. She currently lives in Providence, RI with her partner Peter Glantz and their two cats. Much of her work focuses on representations of women, reproductive rights issues, and struggles for liberation.

Stern’s print is a collaboration with Colorlines, a magazine focusing on issues related to race, culture, and organizing. One of the issues the magazine has been investigating is how families are shattered when parents are deported. The magazine asserts that rather than being defined and divided by racism, citizens can become uplifted and united through racial justice. To do so, they say, it’s necessary to confront the racism at the core of our society. This perspective informs Colorlines’ award-winning investigative reporting and news analysis, and it drives Stern’s focus on naming problems and finding solutions.

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Artist website here.

Ray HernandezRay Hernandez was born in Mexico City (D.F.) and...

Wed, 24 Oct 2012 11:33:00 -0700

Ray Hernandez

Ray Hernandez was born in Mexico City (D.F.) and raised in Amecameca, Mexico. In the early 1990’s, both of his parents decided to migrate to the U.S. in search of a better life and new opportunities. The journey into the United States and the requirement of assimilation into a new life, language, and culture was an experience Hernandez describes as horrific and traumatic. Art became Hernandez’s method to express himself and let out his frustrations, which became a form of rehabilitation. Through his art, Hernandez creates awareness of social justice issues and empowers communities, creating progressive methodologies to express solidarity with other international movements.

Hernandez’s image is a representation of the economic, mental, academic, physical, and other struggles that undocumented students have experienced in order to reach their dreams. Since 2001, undocumented students, also known as DREAMers, have been organizing, advocating, fighting, coming out of the shadows, and sharing their testimonies in order to legalize their status in the U.S. The texture applied in this image is a representation of the many DREAMers who are aging out of their twenties, which can prohibit them from legalizing their status through possible immigration reform that will likely include an age limit. The American flag represents the fact that DREAMers have embraced this country as their own and continue to pursue higher education to become future leaders in the United States.

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Artist website here.

Fernando Martí Fernando Martí, originally from Guayaquil,...

Tue, 23 Oct 2012 18:11:00 -0700

Fernando Martí

Fernando Martí, originally from Guayaquil, Ecuador, grew up crossing borders all his life. Now a San Francisco-based printmaker, architect, and writer, he brings his formal training in architecture and urbanism, as well as his engagement with urban politics, to his prints, constructions, and public projects.

The print, “This Too Shall Fall / También Caerá, ” imagines a world that is possible without walls, checkpoints, and border crossings.

Artist website here.

Mary Tremonte Mary (Mack) Tremonte is an artist/educator/DJ...

Sun, 21 Oct 2012 00:00:00 -0700

Mary Tremonte

Mary (Mack) Tremonte is an artist/educator/DJ rooted in Pittsburgh, PA. As a member of Justseeds Artists’ Cooperative, her vibrant silkscreen prints explore queer animal sexualities, amplified possibilities, and signifiers. Current projects include the design and distribution of bandanas and embroidered badges, referencing scouting and gay hanky code. As a DJ and party organizer she strives to create temporary safe spaces for expression, while also raising funds and awareness for grassroots causes. She is consumed with printmaking, totally teens, collaboration, communication, and the politics of social space, including dance parties.

“Staying Power” was the name of a Queers Against Deportation dance party that Tremonte DJed in Philadelphia in late 2011 and the name resonated with her. Sunflowers, with their deep roots, represent immigrants grounded in their communities. The artist also showcases families she knows who have been separated by U.S. immigration policy. Tremonte’s piece also depicts resistance to detainment and deportation, represented by Jovenes Sin Nombres, a Latino youth arts/activist group in Pittsburgh.

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Artist website here.

Nicolas LampertNicolas Lampert is a Milwaukee-based...

Sat, 20 Oct 2012 11:18:00 -0700

Nicolas Lampert

Nicolas Lampert is a Milwaukee-based interdisciplinary artist and author whose work focuses on themes of social justice and ecology. His art been exhibited internationally and at museums such as the Museum of Modern Art in New York, MASS MoCA, and the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art. Collectively, he works with the Justseeds Artists’ Cooperative and has also collaborated on creative actions with the Rainforest Action Network, Tamms Year Ten, and the Chicago chapter of Iraq Veterans Against the War.

“Media attention on immigration issues rarely, if ever, discusses with any sort of depth the economic, political, and social factors that propel people to risk their lives to travel north across the border,” Lampert said. “Instead, individuals are blamed and a complex issue is reduced to a few soundbites – national security, terrorism, illegal immigrants, etc.” Lampert’s image frames the discussion from the other side of the fence and looks at the systemic reasons for migration. The small text of the print reads, “Since the passing of NAFTA, U.S. subsidized corn has flooded Mexico resulting in the unemployment of 20 percent of Mexico’s small scale corn producers - many of whom head North in search of work.”

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Artist website here.