CARAVANA: Mobilizing Central American Art (1984–Present) is a multidisciplinary traveling exhibition that centers U.S. Central American artists living in California as well as across the United States to examine their lived experiences in relation to the impact of mass migration, family separation, and the legacy of political action and solidarity with the people of Central America.

As Salvadoran curators raised in the U.S. after our parents fled the Civil War, Fátima Ramírez, Mauricio Ramírez, Josué Rojas draw inspiration from the 1984 Artist Call Against U.S. Intervention which mobilized thousands of artists across the U.S. to join in the solidarity movement with the people of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Nicaragua. This call led to the creation of the PLACA murals at Balmy Alley and the Sanctuary Movement in San Francisco. This exhibition is a U.S. Central-American artist response to the attack on Central American families, particularly our youth who represent the next generation.

CARAVANA: Mobilizing Central American Art (1984–Present) seeks to humanize and uplift the experiences of recently arrived migrant youth among teenagers and young college students who wish to better understand the context for recent caravanas, or organized groups of migrants. Central American artists on the frontlines, speaking their truths from their perspective and their home base community. The last thing we want is for an entire generation of Central Americans living in the U.S. to internalize the xenophobic messages spread by mainstream media and by recent political administrations, which undermine their creativity, resourcefulness, and determination.

For this exhibition, we offer a virtual gallery and artist videos for viewing. These virtual experiences were produced by SOMArts to give you an in-depth look at the exhibition.

Virtual gallery

 

Artist Videos

Michelle Angela Ortiz
Las Madres de Berks (2019)
Short documentary, 30 min 59 sec

Film available for purchase here

RSVP for Las Madres de Berks Film screening and Q&A with Michelle Angela Ortiz today

Kenia Guillen
Isabel (2019)
Video, 11 min

A young girl who recently migrated from El Salvador to New York to reunite with her mother is disenchanted by the reality of her new home.

Josué Rojas
Rendering Redemption – Art School Heals Guerilla Town’s Wounds, 2021
Video, 4 mins 51 seconds

Josué Rojas
Mural Vs. Massacre, C.E.I.B.A Americas Project, 2009
Video, 7 mins 53 seconds