An exhibit of 32 paintings by migrant children at the U.S-Mexico border, Painting the Border: A Child's Vision will be on display at ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ÊÓƵÎÞÏÞÖƹۿ´’s DiMenna-Nyselius Library from Sept. 29 until Dec. 17.
The exhibit explores these seminal questions through the eyes of children who have lived this trauma."Â
— Julie Mughal, associate director of Humanitarian Action, Center for Social Impact
ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ÊÓƵÎÞÏÞÖƹۿ´’s Center for Social Impact and the DiMenna-Nyselius Library invite you to the opening of Painting the Border: A Child’s Voice, on Thursday, September 29 at 7 p.m. in the Library Multimedia Room. During the opening celebration, Diana Barnes, PhD, senior teaching professor of Spanish at Skidmore College will present her work with migrant children at the U.S.-Mexico border, after which the CARE Team will lead a civic reflection.
What began as a project to offer a day of fun in a safe space for the youngest migrants living in shelters or on the streets in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, grew into Painting the Border, an exhibit of 32 paintings that gives a voice to these children and offers them the chance to share the stories of their homes, journeys, fears, and hopes.
The 32 young artists were among the 71,000 asylum seekers stranded in Mexican border cities between January 2019 and January 2021. Mainly from Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatamela, their artwork was created through a 2019 event organized by Dr. Barnes in collaboration with World Organization for Peace representative and children’s book author Lucero de Alva. Offered painting supplies and paper, the children worked with El Paso muralist Cimi Alvarado, who taught them storytelling through art, and guided them to paint their own stories.
"This moving, timely, and important exhibit brings to the fore crucial questions of our time: what does it mean for us as a country when we turn away migrant families and children seeking safety at our border? What is the impact on the children who suffer from our broken asylum system?" said Julie Mughal, associate director of Humanitarian Action in the Center for Social Impact. "The exhibit explores these seminal questions through the eyes of children who have lived this trauma."
Painting the Border: A Child’s Voice has previously been exhibited at Skidmore College and UConn, and will be on view in ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ÊÓƵÎÞÏÞÖƹۿ´’s DiMenna-Nyselius Library throughout the fall 2022 semester. For more information, please reach out to Julie Mughal, associate director of Humanitarian Action in the Center for Social Impact or Lisa Thornell, head of library outreach and communications at the DiMenna Nyselius Library.
