Participants are shown during the artists’ workshop that took place last Tuesday at the Center for Latin American Arts department on the Edinburg campus. The workshop took place simultaneously with the Migration Narratives project and the “Hostile Terrain 94” exhibition at UTRGV. Courtesy Photo
The Center for Latin American Arts hosted a summit discussing the connections between art and writing in conjunction with immigration last Tuesday and Wednesday simultaneously with the Migration Narratives project and the “Hostile Terrain 94” exhibition at UTRGV.
Both the Artist’s and Writer’s Workshops on Tuesday and Wednesday were presented in collaboration with the UTRGV Center for Mexican American Studies. The series focused on issues related to immigration and how experiences related to migration affect a creator’s art.
Seminar speakers included Sister Norma Pimentel, executive director of the Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley; Luis Alberto Urrea, a 2005 Pulitzer Prize finalist for nonfiction; journalist Cecilia Ballí; Melissa Guerra, a UTRGV alumna and food historian; Cesar De León, a UTRGV Literatures and Cultural Studies lecturer and writer; Christopher Carmona, UTRGV interim director of Mexican American Studies; Rigoberto González, a UTRGV art and design lecturer and winner of the 2021 Migration Narratives grant; Luis Corpus, Art Department chair at South Texas College; and UTRGV alumna and artist Olga Alanis.
De León, an adjunct English lecturer for the College of Liberal Arts, spoke on Tuesday as part of a roundtable of authors. De León said these kinds of workshops allow for community engagement, as well as for people to learn more about topics they did not know previously were connected.
“Participating in these kinds of events excites me because they allow me to talk and get to know others, but also to teach and learn more about how art connects directly with marginalized communities,” he said.
De León said identity, especially at universities with large Hispanic populations, plays a huge part in a student’s college experience, and how that can be involved with their art.
“In the writing process, it’s important to have a sense of identity and to use that identity they’ve found and transform it into something positive,” he said. “But, identity isn’t the only thing you should think about as a writer, but also keep the concept of community in mind. When [you are an artist], you need to know how to take the knowledge that you have as an artist and say, ‘Does this connect with not only my identity, but other artists as well?’ or ‘How do I create something that not only I enjoy, but others can connect with, too?’”
The workshops and seminar happened in conjunction with “Hostile Terrain 94,” an art installation that premiered in the Rio Grande Valley Oct. 4 at the Rusteberg Art Gallery in Brownsville and concluded last Friday.
Sarah Rowe, exhibit organizer and an assistant professor in UTRGV’s Sociology and Anthropology department, said the exhibition is focused on the Prevention Through Deterrence Policy that was enacted in 1994, allowing increased U.S. Border Patrol presence in highly populated areas in order to prevent undocumented crossings.
Rowe said she hopes people who viewed the exhibition understand the larger message behind the project.
“Often, immigration issues get misconstrued and people forget that there are actual people experiencing this every day,” she said. “When people start to understand that the Prevention policy is harming humans every second, people might start to try and work towards changing the laws to better help not only U.S. citizens, but immigrants hoping to cross the border for refuge.”
In March, CLAA will host an exhibition and event series, titled “Uncovered Spaces,” which will be centered on women and LGBTQIA+ artists, at the International Museum of Art and Science in McAllen. According to the UTRGV CLAA webpage, the event will “articulate ideas through art that relate to women’s cultural expectations and social norms that challenge or oppress women, as well as ways that protect and support them.”
The event will be held between March and August and is supported by the Alice Kleberg Reynolds Foundation, a nonprofit organization that provides grants to a variety of different organizations.
For more information about “Uncovered Spaces” and future events hosted by CLAA, visit its webpage at www.utrgv.edu/claa or its Instagram @claa.utrgv.
