FRIDAY, JANUARY 11TH 6:30- 8:00 pm
Location: Mural Arts Program
Lincoln Financial Mural Arts Center at the Thomas Eakins House
1729 Mt. Vernon Street, Philadelphia, PA
This transnational public art project, created and directed by local artist Michelle Angela Ortiz in the summer of 2012, connected Mexican immigrant youth in South Philadelphia with youth in Chihuahua, Mexico to create a permanent mural in South Philadelphia.
"Aqui y Alla", which translates to "Here and There" explores the effect of immigration on their lives, through their family dynamic, sense of identity, shifting of cultures, socio-economic status, and violence against their communities. The video documentary shares first hand testimonials of young Mexican immigrant students in Philadelphia and Mexico,and follows how these students worked in parallel on both sides of the border toward a shared creative vision.
We were able to create a time lapse video of the mural. Click here or play the video below to see the blank wall transformed into the "Aqui y Alla" Mural!!!
CultureStrike is a magazine at the forefront of the national arts movement around immigration.
CultureStrike seeks to support the national and global arts movement
around immigration. They are a network of artists, writers, filmmakers,
musicians, and other cultural workers who want to fight anti-immigrant
hate by bringing out the stories of migrants and creating
counter-narratives about migration. They commission, publish, and
broadcast new art, writing and media, featuring a wide range of
literature, art and ideas in their online magazine of culture and
politics.
Check out the article about the "Aqui y Allá" Project here.
Michelle Angela Ortiz, creator, director and lead artist of the "Aqui y Allá" mural project, was recently interviewed by NBC Latino and was featured in the front page of the Style and Soul section of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
To read the interviews click on the links below:
Philadelphia Inquirer
NBC Latino
