Detention Nation:
Sin Huellas Collective Installation Exhibition

School of Art Landmark Gallery
October 20 - December 15, 2018
Panel Discussion: Saturday, October 20th from 4:00-5:30 PM

Organized by Delilah Montoya, of Albuquerque and Houston, Detention Nation is a collaborative installation by Montoya and a collective of artist-activists based in Texas and New Mexico who go by the name Sin Huellas (without a trace or without tracks). Sin Huellas comprises the artists Delilah Montoya, Orlando Lara, Deyadira Arellano, Brenda Cruz-Wolf, Hope Sanford, Carlos Carrasco, Jessica González, Selene C. and Douglas Menjivar, and including the handcraft work of detainee Yesica.

The exhibition explores the physical, mental and emotional experiences of the thousands of immigrants locked up in private detention centers across America.

Related Events:

Wednesday, October 17th at 7:00 PM in English 001

Demanding Dignity: A Discourse on Bodies.
This roundtable discussion focuses and frames demands for dignity and justice while engaging issues and reforms related to Body Politics. Presented by the Literature, Social Justice, Environment (LSJE) Initiative in the Department of English.

• Dr. Delilah Montoya, Professor of Art, University of Houston, organizer of "Detention Nation"
• Dr. Constance Cortez, Director, School of Art, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
• Sister Rosemary Welsh, Executive Director, Casa de Misericordia (House of Mercy), Laredo, Texas
• Apryl Lewis, Graduate Student, Department of English, Black Graduate Student Association Representative

Friday, October 19th, 9:30am-12:30pm, Satellite Gallery at CASP

Calling All Artivists! A Creative Organizing Workshop for Immigrant Rights
Facilitated by Sin Huellas members Orlando Lara, Associate Director of Comparative Race and Ethnic Studies at Texas Christian University, Fort Worth and Deyadira Arellano, Community Organizer for Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Services.

Workshop Description:
In the past several years, as the immigrant rights movement has gained momentum, lost ground, and continued to fight back in the midst of heightened racial rhetoric and state-sanctioned violence, the idea that art can confront injustice and that social activism not only can but must be creative has become paramount. Artists, once reluctant to describe what they do as "political art" now often embrace the terms like "artivist" or even at times "activist" without hesitation. This is not without tension, however, as those who were once seen as the vulnerable objects of representation now increasingly "take the mic" and demand to represent themselves. In such a context, what is the role of "the artist"? What is the role of "the activist"? What is the role of the community member who may be one or all of these? In this workshop, we hope to explore some of these questions, while also engaging in a dialogue aimed at producing stronger collaborations and a deeper interpenetration of the creative and the activist in our work. Above all, we will explore the following question, how can artists, activists and artivists work with directly affected folks to produce equitable relationships and projects that impact the world.

Saturday, October 20th at 4:00-5:30 PM in English 001

Caged, Enraged, and Engaged: Challenging American Immigration Policy.
Panel Discussion for Detention Nation, Presented by the School of Art.

• Delilah Montoya, artist & Sin Huellas collaborator, Houston and Albuquerque.
• Jessica González, Sin Huellas artist and activist, Houston.
• Rossy Evelin Lima, poet and linguist, Director of the Spanish as a Heritage Language Program in CMLL.
• Saba Nafees, doctoral student in Mathematical Biology at Texas Tech University, One Young World ambassador, and subject of the "Dream with Me" documentary.
• David Strange, attorney, Board Certified in Immigration and Nationality Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, partner at Whittenburg & Strange, P.C., and adjunct professor of law at the Texas Tech University School of Law.
• Moderator: Constance Cortez, Ph.D., director, Art Department, University of Texas - Rio Grande Valley.

Thursday, October 25th at 7:00 PM in English 106

Una Herida Abierta:
A Reading and Discussion in Conjunction with Detention Nation
Organized by Jessica E. Smith, Creative Writing Program of the Department of English with readings by Fred Aguilar, Curtis Bauer, Rossy Evelin Lima, Beth McKinney, Kenna Neitch, Matthew Porto, and Valerie Wayson, as well as a brief video presentation from Baz Dreisinger.

Tuesday, November 6th at 5:15 PM in Art B-01

Angel Cabrales – Borderlands Series Speaker
" Finding Identity in No Man's Land."

From the border city, El Paso, TX, Angel Cabrales received his Bachelor of Fine Arts from Arizona State University and his Master of Fine Arts from the University of North Texas. Currently he is the Assistant Professor in Sculpture at the University of Texas at El Paso, as well as a mentor in The Low Residency Master of Fine Arts Program for the School of Art Institute of Chicago.

Cabrales participated in the Photo Book, La Frontera: Artists along the Mexican/American Border by German photographer Stefan Falk and most recently raised over $7000 for Annunciation House in El Paso to assist the refugee families and children in detention center in Tornillo, TX. He has exhibited his artwork extensively, having his work featured in both solo and group exhibitions at renowned institutions and galleries including the International TransBorder Biennial in El Paso, TX and Juarez Mexico, Texas Biennial in Austin, TX, The Sculpture Biennial at the Amarillo Museum of Art in Amarillo, TX, MAC Dallas, the Mesa Contemporary Arts Museum in Mesa, AZ, The Latino Cultural Center of Dallas, TX, The Longview Museum of Art in Longview, TX, El Paso Museum of Art in EL Paso, TX, Wave Pool Gallery in Cincinnati, OH, Grand Art Haus in Phoenix, AZ, Baton Rouge Gallery in Baton Rouge, LA, and collaborated with the AMBOS Project (an intervention collaboration). Angel is represented by the Ro2 Gallery in Dallas, TX and the Royse Contemporary in Scottsdale, AZ.