The Art of Immigration to America
A timely 1st Saturday art exhibition—the third in the City of Kingston’s ongoing series—opened on July 6 at the Ground Floor Gallery in City Hall. En Camino: Destination Forward documents Mexican-American artist and photographer Alexandro “Alekz” Pacheco’s immigration journey with his family to the United States. Light refreshments will be provided. The exhibit will be on display at the Kingston City Hall’s gallery space until September 27, 2019.
Pacheco was born and raised in Kingston, and holds a BFA from SUNY New Paltz. His work often addresses his past struggles with self-acceptance within his traditional Mexican upbringing. His most recent previous show, Mírame: El Primer Capítulo, was exhibited in 2018 at the Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art. He cites photographers Olivia Bee and Nadia Sablin as two main sources of inspiration.
“En Camino: Destination Forward explores my personal experience as a witness to my family’s journey as immigrants to the United States,” Pacheco says. “It is an open invitation to be a part of history, in a journey full of progression. This experience is crucial, not only in preserving our culture, but also in aiding the evolution of tradition to fit the contemporary experience.”
This exhibit is one of three Kingston exhibitions developed by the Arts Mid-Hudson Folk Arts Program, Latinx Project, The Reher Center for Immigrant Culture and History, The Hudson Valley LGBTQ Center and the City of Kingston. The three-pronged exhibit—The Spaces Between: Exploring Our Physical and Cultural Borders—explores the social spaces of marginalized cultures in American society. Two additional exhibitions, and other events to encourage conversations around immigration, identity and culture, will be mounted at the Reher Center and the LGBTQ Center. For more information about The Spaces Between workshops, performances, open-mics and other events, please visit the Latinx Facebook page.
In partnering with Arts Mid-Hudson and the Latinx Project to bring multiple exhibits to locations throughout the City, Mayor Steve Noble states, “We are honored to have this important body of work displayed at City Hall. I hope [these exhibits] will open up dialogue for conversations about belonging and inclusiveness that will be valuable to our community.”
Exhibitions at City Hall are made possible through the collaboration of Arts Mid-Hudson, the Department of Art & Cultural Affairs, the Midtown Arts District, and The Kingston Arts Commission. To learn more about past and future exhibitions at City Hall, please visit https://www.kingston-ny.gov/exhibitions.
