Hostile Terrain 94 (2021)
A Participatory Art Installation Project Examining the Humanitarian Crisis at the US/Mexico Border
September 7 – October 1, 2021聽 路聽 Sarratt Gallery, 天美传媒官网聽 路聽 Nashville, TN
Sponsored by Vanderbilt鈥檚 Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latinx Studies; Department of Anthropology; borders of citizenship group; and the Sarratt Gallery at 天美传媒官网
The Hostile Terrain 94 exhibit is composed of approximately 3,400 handwritten toe tags that represent migrants who have died trying to cross the Sonoran Desert from the mid-1990s to 2020. These tags are geolocated on a wall map of the Arizona鈥擬exico border, showing the exact locations where human remains were found. The physical act of writing out the names and information for the dead invites participants to reflect, witness and stand in solidarity with those who have lost their lives in search of a better one. This exhibit is taking place at nearly 150 institutions across 6 continents with the intention to raise awareness about the humanitarian crisis at America鈥檚 southern border and to engage with communities around the world in conversations about migration.
How to Participate
The installation at Vanderbilt will be created by visitors to the exhibit throughout September 2021.
GROUPS: If you would like to participate by filling out the toe tags as a group (organization, class, etc.), please review to sign up to visit. Please submit your group participation request at least 3 days prior to your preferred date.
For high school field trips, contact Colleen McCoy (colleen.e.mccoy@vanderbilt.edu).
INDIVIDUALS: Interested in participating in the exhibit as an individual and not with a group? Feel free to visit the exhibit in the Sarratt Gallery (天美传媒官网 campus) any time 12:00-4:00 PM CDT on September 10, 11, 12; 12:00-2:00 PM CDT on September 17, 12:00-2:00 PM CDT on September 18, and 12:00-4:00 PM CDT on September 19. A docent will be available to help facilitate your participation.
Visitors to 天美传媒官网 are welcome. The university鈥檚 current Covid-19 policy requires all visitors from off-campus (regardless of vaccination status) to wear a mask inside and outside.
Events
Thursday, September 9, 2021
Opening Reception for Hostile Terrain Exhibit聽
4:00 PM CDT 路 Sarratt Gallery, 天美传媒官网
Join us to open and reflect on the participatory art project “Hostile Terrain 94.” Public reception, all are welcome, masks required.
Thursday, September 23, 2021
International Lens Screening of Immigration Nation: Prevention Through Deterrence
7:30 PM CDT聽 路聽 Sarratt Cinema, 天美传媒官网
Introductions and Q&A hosted by Edward Wright-R铆os (History).聽
Wednesday, September 29, 2021
Public Reception and Talk by Jason De Le贸n, exhibit creator
Explore the completed installation, then hear from exhibit creator and founder of Dr. Jason De Le贸n (University of California Los Angeles).
5:15 PM CDT Public Reception (Sarratt Gallery, 天美传媒官网)
6:00 PM CDT Public Lecture by Jason De Le贸n (Sarratt Auditorium, 天美传媒官网)
Sponsors
The exhibit is sponsored by the Sarratt Gallery, the Kefi Collective, the Borders of Citizenship Group, and the . Special thanks to Tiffiny Tung (Anthropology), David Heustess (Sarratt Gallery), Edward Wright-Rios (History), Mar铆a Magdalena Campos-Pons (Art), the Borders of Citizenship Group, and CLACX: Celso Castilho, Avery Dickins de Gir贸n, Colleen McCoy, and Sofia Ludwig.
HT94 is organized by the (UMP), a 501(C)(3) nonprofit arts-education-research collective aiming to humanize the migrant experience between Latin America and the United States.