Immigrant/Refugee Narrative Mural Paintings, Exhibition and Panel Discussion.
For several years, the media has reported stories about the Immigration crisis in the Southwest border between the United States and Mexico. Being a native of the Rio Grande Valley in South Texas, I realized that the sound bites were not fully capturing the complexity of the situation. This visual arts project portraying the border concerns will expand upon the current media reports and express the voices of the people affected by these events, as well as promote awareness and dialogue. This is too big a story to report through raw journalism. It is important for me, as an artist, to address contemporary concerns and create a visual record portraying these events with an artistic sensibility. The theme running through my current paintings is a merger of the visual vernacular of the Baroque and current border issues affecting Mexico and the United States – People whose lives have been affected by social economic conflicts such as immigration policies and the war o...