Local artists examine immigration
Atlantic Works Gallery is inviting the community to a free, fun Community Day for the whole family! This is in conjunction with its summer exhibition, Roots of Passage: Artists Examine Immigration. This exhibition is a group showing of artwork by gallery members and selected guest artists who will investigate immigration from their own personal experiences This festivity will take place Saturday, August 3 at 80 Border Street in East Boston from 2:00 – 6:00 p.m.
Atlantic Works Gallery is inviting the entire East Boston community to the gallery to celebrate and honor the many cultures and the immigrants of East Boston. Everyone is invited to view the exhibition where the artists will be available to discuss their art with the use translators, if necessary.
Local restaurants such as Dirty Water Dough, The Smoke Shop BBQ, Cafe Interum, Lolly’s, La Hacienda, and Taqueria Jalisco are all donating food for this great event!. Yum yum. There will be music and dancing and a whole lot of eating and fun.
At this event Atlantic Works gallery is presenting an interactive community art project, Immigrant Respect, where immigrants can tell their own story. This work involves our community weaving ribbons with optional messages into the Atlantic Works fence.
Through this process we show our respect for those who have made the decision to relocate to East Boston and the weight of that decision on their lives and their families. We not only want to share our appreciation of our diverse community, but also create a safe place for people to share their sentiments and stories surrounding immigration issues. We also celebrate and respect people who have chosen to immigrate.
The name of the installation and the colors of the ribbons are inspired by the Immigrant Movement International, Immigrant Awareness Ribbon Campaign and will be shades of blues, browns, and greens meant to represent the water and lands people crossed on their journeys. Through this work we hope to broaden our reach within the East Boston community and learn more about our AWG art communities ties to immigration.
Closing the day’s events, at 6:00 there will be a screening of the Hoopla Production’s film, Open Your Heart: Immigrant Stories From Boston And Beyond with a discussion with the producer and actors on what it means to be an immigrant living in your community.
“East Boston has always been a gateway for immigrants starting in the 1800s, and today it has the highest percentage of foreign-born citizens of any Boston neighborhood,” noted one of the gallery’s founding members, Eric Hess. “With East Boston’s rich tradition of welcoming immigrants, and now with immigration such a burning issue in the news today, the gallery felt compelled to not only examine, but to celebrate the issue.”
Atlantic Works Gallery Roots of Passage: Artists Investigate Immigration; Open Your Heart: Immigrant Stories and Music from Boston and Beyond: Saturday, August 3, 6:00-8pm
• Community Day and Immigrant • Respect: Saturday August 3, 2:00– 6:00 p.m. Atlantic Works Gallery, 80 Border Street, Boston, MA 02128, now in its twenty-first year, is an artist-run collaborative space for art and ideas located in East Boston. The gallery is open to the public every Friday and Saturday, 2:00 – 6:00 p.m. For private viewing, contact leigh@leighhall.net. For more information, visit https://atlanticworks.org/
