“Immigrants’ rights are human rights: End the criminalization, detentions, and abuse!” Those words, in three languages, graced a poster, which also showed a figure trapped behind barbed wires staring back at viewers.
The print, by Brooklyn-based artist Molly Fair, is one of the many on display at the University of Washington’s School of Social Work as part of the art exhibition “Migration Now!”
This collection of prints features works from the Justseeds Artists’ Collective, a community of close to 30 artists whose work “reflects a radical, social, environmental, and political stance,” and CultureStrike magazine, which describes itself as a network of artists and cultural workers “who want to fight anti-immigrant hate.”
Immigration, sexuality, family and the fight for migrant justice are central themes of the exhibit held on the school’s Seattle campus until the end of March.
On Jan. 22, a reception and panel discussion at the exhibit hall featured presentations from the exhibition’s curator, Susan N. Platt, a former art professor, and UW Associate Professor Tracy Harachi, who won the university’s 2011 Outstanding Public Service Award.
The panel opened with the documentary “Voice of Art — Migration is Beautiful,” which contained anecdotes and illustrations of immigrant-rights artists and their stories.
Platt and Harachi discussed the impacts immigration and deportation have on society as well as on individuals who may migrate due to
circumstances beyond their control.
“You have this lethal intersection of the military, of free trade, the taxes on agriculture, and the drug trade — all of these things coming together to force masses of destruction on livelihoods and masses of migration,” said Platt, citing examples of the North American Free Trade Agreement’s consequences on Mexico and its small-scale corn producers.
She added, “Since the passing of the North American Free Trade Agreement, U.S. subsidized corn has flooded the market in Mexico resulting in the unemployment of 20 percent of Mexico’s small-scale corn producers, many of whom head north to work.”
Platt, an independent art historian and critic, talked to the small crowd about the “big picture” of immigration and its effects in the global South, as well as how the pro-migrant art scene flourishes during times of conflict.
As an example of art as civil disobedience, she cited the Undocubus, a 2012 bus journey from Phoenix, Ariz., to Charlotte, N. C., site of the most recent Democratic National Convention.
The bus, whose riders wanted pro-immigration policies, has since traveled extensively throughout the country.
“If they come out in many numbers, and they were all out there, then the [U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement] didn’t detain them, or only briefly,” said Platt.
Harachi, who has worked closely with Cambodian immigrants and deportees who are processed in the Tacoma Northwest Detention Center, focused on how significant forced displacement can be on individuals and their communities.
“[People] are going back after being in America for 30 to 40 years for small things that happened years ago: a DUI, one or two shoplifting offenses,” said Harachi.
She added, “If they lose [their livelihoods], they lose everything, and that’s one of the reasons that people leave.”
Both Platt and Harachi emphasized the need to advocate for a group that might not always have a mainstream voice.
“Right now, it’s very important to speak up because there is so much transition in immigration law and reform,” Pratt said.
WHAT / WHERE / WHEN
What: Migration Now! Where: UW School of Social Work, first floor, 4101 15th Ave. E. When: Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. – 6 p.m. How long: Exhibit runs till March 27.