Arts and Entertainment

HUB-Robeson Galleries to host 'Migrant Stories' virtual event Oct. 13

Migrant Stories, a virtual event hosted by the HUB-Robeson Galleries and Center for Performing Arts on Tuesday, Oct. 13, will highlight both the art exhibit, Hostile Terrain 94, as well as the contemporary theater work, Fandango for Butterflies (and Coyotes) pictured. While each project takes a different perspective, they work collectively to bring to light many stories of Latin American immigrants and their migration to the United States. Credit: Engrande Arts. All Rights Reserved.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa — Penn State’s HUB-Robeson Galleries, in collaboration with the Center for the Performing Arts, will present the interactive event, "Migrant Stories," via Zoom from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 13. Register via zoom or join with this Meeting ID: 953 6552 8259. 

Join playwright Andrea Thome in a live question-and-answer session about migrant stories and the creation of "Fandango for Butterflies (and Coyotes)". Afterward, participants will have an opportunity to memorialize migrants by virtually participating in "Hostile Terrain 94."

The event will highlight both the exhibit "Hostile Terrain 94," as well as "Fandango for Butterflies (and Coyotes)," a contemporary theater work, produced by En Garde Arts, that the Center for the Performing Arts plans to present in fall 2021. While each project takes a different perspective, they work collectively to bring to light many stories of Latin American immigrants and their migration to the United States. 

"Fandango for Butterflies (and Coyotes)" was written by Chilean/Costa Rican-American playwright Thome, who used interviews with immigrants living in New York City to create a play depicting the realities of migrant life. The play is a celebration of Latin American communities and culture, plus an exposition of the fear strict ICE regulations impose on migrants. Thome will attend Migrant Stories to discuss the play, her experiences interviewing both legal and undocumented immigrants in New York City, and the challenges of writing Fandango. 

"Hostile Terrain 94" is an interactive art piece created by Jason DeLeon, director of the Undocumented Migration Project, which is on exhibit in Art Alley through Nov. 20. The exhibition, one of 94 global installations organized by the Undocumented Migration Project, is a participatory art project that brings awareness to the humanitarian crisis occurring at the U.S.-Mexico border. 

The project identifies the Prevention Through Deterrence policy implemented during the Clinton administration as a lethal force, pushing immigrants to travel through areas deemed hostile terrain at the U.S. border. Hostile Terrain 94 is composed of individual toe tags representing thousands of migrants who died traveling through the Sonoran Desert of Arizona since the 1990s. Each tag is partnered with a red pin, geolocated on a wall map at the location where each person’s remains were found. 

At "Migrant Stories," participants can memorialize these deaths by filling out toe tags to be used in the piece. During the toe tag workshop, HUB-Robeson Galleries student employees will share responses from viewers of the piece. Attendees will also have the chance to reflect and respond. 

“The Center for the Performing Arts is thrilled to be partnering with the HUB-Robeson Galleries and En Garde Arts to bring awareness of the plight of migrants using powerful images and words to tell real, contemporary stories,” said Amy Dupain Vashaw, director of audience and program development at the Center for the Performing Arts. 

“The pandemic has caused us to delay the presentation of En Garde’s masterful, compelling and authentic play, ‘Fandango for Butterflies (and Coyotes)’ until the 2021–22 academic year, so we are grateful for this partnership that allows us to interact with the playwright virtually. Collaboration forms the core of our work, and we are so glad that the HUB-Robeson Galleries exhibition aligned so nicely with the same themes we are exploring through En Garde’s work.” 

Register for "Migrant Stories" via zoom

For more information on this and other exhibitions, contact the HUB-Robeson Galleries at 814-865-2563, galleries@psu.edu, or visit studentaffairs.psu.edu/hub/art-galleries. 

Contact: Danielle Spewak, visual arts production specialist, HUB-Robeson Galleries, djs6107@psu.edu or Cheri Jehu, Mellon project coordinator, Center for the Performing arts,  clj5350@psu.edu

 

 

Last Updated October 14, 2020