On view: March 20 - April 19, 2025
Opening Reception: Thurs., March 20, 6-8pm
Closing Reception: Sat., April 19, 6-8pm

Curated by Destiny Jones

Exhibiting artists include Lauren Caminero-Susana, Emelin Peralta, Jahzeel Peralta and Leonie Smith.

Angst is the cost of living. A feeling that is familiar to everyone, anxiety. It creeps into all our lives at some point and can shape our reality. Acknowledgment of mental health struggles are not afforded to women of color who live with anxiety due to societal pressures and standards. I want women to feel validated and seen when expressing themselves. This exhibition puts together four artists who have deep connections with their bodies, using them to depict scenarios of unease using surrealism. The depictions of their emotions portrayed as realistic or a cartoonish manner offering silliness while exploring heavy topics of the human condition. The women in this show bring their individual expressions of angst in the form of emotional realities, physical symptoms, and day-to-day life.  

Lauren Caminero Susana utilizes painting, drawing, sculpture, and printmaking to explore relationships between the body and mind. Influenced by themes such as grief & loss through the passage of time she uses self portraiture and depictions of the body to capture the displacement of not feeling here nor there. Her current work focuses on her struggles with identity & self acceptance as she continues to deal with the sudden death of her mother as a teen.

Emelin Peralta explores navigating emotions during different stages of her life. “The human body reacts to your emotions, things that can not be seen, they can only be felt.” Using painting and drawing, she mainly works with self portraiture to convey invisible emotions.  Her use of symbolism, romanticism, and abstract expressionism can be seen throughout.

Leonie Smith focuses on forging the gap between past and present using real and imagined scenarios. Utilizing printmaking, painting, and drawing, she uses aspects of childhood memories in humorous or creepy ways. “I move through the world as someone who deals with anxiety, my work is a reflection of scenarios both lived and imagined as a form of escapism.”

Jahzeel E. Peralta uses sculpture and drawing to create her sculptures that embody the emotional and mental battles that “go unheard of but speak loudly in silence.” The interweaving grotto and monumental scales are monoliths, juxtaposed with niche sceneries. They combine to create the narratives of life, death, fear, anxiety, and the transcendent merit of life.

Destiny Jones is a multidisciplinary Bronx based artist, curator, and teaching artist. My art forms range from printmaking, ceramics, photography, and digital art. My work centers black feminism, identity, and growing pains, with a focus of intersectionality exploring the issues of the past that continue to perpetuate the modern world.

Art Exhibition / Immigrant Portal

On view: April 25 – May 25, 2025
Opening Reception: Friday, April 25, 5 -8pm

Organized by María Ponce, Marco Saavedra, Blanka Amezkua

Saturday, April 26, 11am- 5pm: Rapid Response, Plaza Proletaria, Representative from New York Legal Assistance Group

Saturday, May 10, 12- 3pm: Colectivo VOCES, Cookbook presentation moderated by Paloma Celis-Carbajal

Saturday, May 24, 5-8pm: Closing Celebration – Participating artists speak + presentation of writer Marco Nieto’s poetry book introduced by Mixtec Tu'un Savi poet Nadia López García

“I love you because you are my people” is the message our people need to hear today & always (Benedetti). Our response to hate, racism, deportations & terror is love, community, networks of care & abundance. I love you “because every day your hands create the world” (Neruda). I love you because you are freedom. These daring works of art are an offering from the migrant community that crosses borders. We know that the only way to resist the hateful policies of “enforcement through attrition” is by caring for our community with love.

¡Te Amo Porque S.O.S. Pueblo! brings together the work of artists who arrived in the country as undocumented minors, alongside pieces by their immigrant artist friends and others. More than an art exhibition, we envision it as an immigrant portal—a space for the community to gather, share meals and stories, access legal resources, and connect with local organizations supporting immigrants. The programming will feature art, communal meals, legal guidance, survival services, and vital information on organizations working directly with immigrant communities. Above all, this exhibition serves as a portal of solidarity, a testament to our presence, our mutual support, and the strength we find in standing together during these challenging times.

Co-curated by Maria Ponce, Marco Saavedra and Blanka Amezkua, ¡Te Amo Porque S.O.S Pueblo! will present works by immigrant artists who came to the country as undocumented minors and artists with a family history of crossing borders. The exhibition features the works of 33 artists whose last names will be kept anonymous: Ruddy, Odalys, Itzi, Rigo, Gabriel, Marco, Alejandra, Aurelio, Elena, Mary, Cristian, Niceli, Talita, Odette, Katherine, Leslie, Dialekto, Jose Luis, Daniela, Sonia, Maria, MaryJose, Zenaida, Paulina, Margarita, Eufemia, Eugenia, Erika, Patricia, Cinthya, Tammy, Alexis, and Blanka. Their work explores the meaning of sanctuary, tying together themes of nourishment, care networks, and ancestral spiritual practices to emphasize love and community in response to the current climate of hate, racism, deportations, and terror.

For this show, we are delighted to be in collaboration with The Clemente Center’s Historias Sembradas’ Crossing Borders thematic track, ¡Te Amo Porque S.O.S Pueblo! brings together artists who have personally lived the realities of the U.S. borderland industrial complex. This exhibition explores the creation of sanctuary through nourishment, ancestral spiritual practices, legal rights and community resources—affirming art as a means of survival, love and celebration.

Opening and closing events will include food provided by La Morada Restaurant. Local organizations, including Rapid Response, Plaza Proletaria, the National Latina Institute, and Mixteca among others will provide valuable information.

The organizers extend their heartfelt gratitude to Bronx Art Space and our incredible community of supporters whose generosity made this exhibition/immigrant portal possible. So many are coming together to bring this to life—¡Muchisimas gracias!

Donors, participating organizations and/or information available by:
The Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural & Educational Center Inc., Rapid Response, Cynthia Bastida, Rebeldia Radio, The New School, Running for Ayotzinapa 43, Ford Foundation, Plaza Proletaria, Rocío Aranda-Alvarado, Mixteca, Bronx Council on the Arts, Colectivo Voces, Guillaume Klentz, NYFA Immigrant Artist Mentoring Program, Rebecca Schreiber, Interference Archive, Up the Creek Records, Undocumented Womens Fund, La Sirena Mexican Folk Art, National Latina Institute, Harriet Taub, La Morada Restaurant, Deborah Cullen, UnLocal Inc, MASA, Verónica J. Vega, Mano a Mano, CUNY Mexican Studies Institute, Nos Quedamos, Virginia Inés Vergara, Casita Maria, The Point CDC, Hispanic Society Museum & Library, New York Legal Assistance Group, Make the Road New York, Workers Justice Project, Las Doñas Academy, and the New York Public Library.

Exposición de arte / Portal del Inmigrante

En exposición: 25 de abril - 25 de mayo de 2025
Recepción inaugural: Viernes, 25 de abril, 5 -8pm

Organizado por María Ponce, Marco Saavedra, Blanka Amezkua

Sábado, 26 de abril, 11- 5pm: Rapid Response, Plaza Proletaria, Representante de New York Legal Assistance Group

Sábado, 10 de mayo 12- 3pm: Colectivo VOCES, Presentación de libros de cocina moderada por Paloma Celis-Carbajal

Sábado, 24 de mayo, 5-8pm: Celebración de clausura - Los artistas participantes hablan + presentación del libro de poesía del escritor Marco Nieto introducido por la poeta mixteca Tu'un Savi Nadia López García

«Te amo porque eres mi gente» es el mensaje que nuestra gente necesita escuchar hoy y siempre (Benedetti). Nuestra respuesta al odio, el racismo, las deportaciones y el terror es el amor, la comunidad, las redes de atención y la abundancia. Te quiero «porque cada día tus manos crean el mundo» (Neruda). Te quiero porque eres libertad. Estas atrevidas obras de arte son una ofrenda de la comunidad migrante que cruza fronteras. Sabemos que la única forma de resistir a las odiosas políticas de «aplicación por desgaste» es cuidar de nuestra comunidad con amor.

Te Amo Porque S.O.S. Pueblo! reúne la obra de artistas que llegaron al país como menores indocumentados, junto con obras de sus amigos artistas inmigrantes y de otras personas. Más que una exposición de arte, lo concebimos como un portal del inmigrante, un espacio para que la comunidad se reúna, comparta comidas e historias, acceda a recursos jurídicos y se ponga en contacto con organizaciones locales de apoyo a los inmigrantes. La programación incluirá arte, comidas comunitarias, orientación jurídica, servicios de supervivencia e información vital sobre organizaciones que trabajan directamente con comunidades de inmigrantes. Por encima de todo, esta exposición es un portal de solidaridad, un testimonio de nuestra presencia, nuestro apoyo mutuo y la fuerza que encontramos al permanecer unidos en estos tiempos difíciles.

Comisariada conjuntamente por María Ponce, Marco Saavedra y Blanka Amezkua, ¡Te Amo Porque S.O.S Pueblo! presentará obras de artistas inmigrantes que llegaron al país como menores indocumentados y de artistas con antecedentes familiares de cruce de fronteras. La exposición presenta las obras de 33 artistas cuyos apellidos se mantendrán en el anonimato: Ruddy, Odalys, Itzi, Rigo, Gabriel, Marco, Alejandra, Aurelio, Elena, Mary, Cristian, Niceli, Talita, Odette, Katherine, Leslie, Dialekto, José Luis, Daniela, Sonia, María, MaryJose, Zenaida, Paulina, Margarita, Eufemia, Eugenia, Erika, Patricia, Cinthya, Tammy, Alexis y Blanka. Su trabajo explora el significado de santuario, vinculando temas de nutrición, redes de cuidado y prácticas espirituales ancestrales para enfatizar la importancia de la protección de la infancia.

Para esta exposición, estamos encantados de colaborar con el ciclo temático Crossing Borders de Historias Sembradas del Clemente Center, ¡Te Amo Porque S.O.S Pueblo! reúne a artistas que han vivido personalmente las realidades del complejo industrial fronterizo estadounidense. Esta exposición explora la creación de un santuario a través de la alimentación, las prácticas espirituales ancestrales, los derechos legales y los recursos comunitarios, afirmando el arte como medio de supervivencia, amor y celebración.

Los actos de inauguración y clausura incluirán comida ofrecida por el restaurante La Morada. Organizaciones locales como Respuesta Rápida, Plaza Proletaria, el Instituto Nacional de Latinas y Mixteca, entre otras, ofrecerán información valiosa.

Los organizadores expresan su más sincero agradecimiento al Bronx Art Space y a nuestra increíble comunidad de colaboradores, cuya generosidad ha hecho posible esta exposición/portal del inmigrante. Son muchos los que se han unido para dar vida a este proyecto. ¡Muchísimas gracias!

Donantes, organizaciones participantes y/o información disponible por:
Rapid Response, Rebeldia Radio, Running for Ayotzinapa 43, Plaza Proletaria, Mixteca, Colectivo Voces, NYFA Immigrant Artist, Undocumented Womens Fund, National Latina Institute, La Morada Restaurant, UnLocal Inc, Ford Foundation , MASA, Mano a Mano, CUNY Mexican Studies Institute, El Clemente Soto Velez, Nos Quedamos, Casita Maria, The Point CDC, Hispanic Society Museum & Library , Zolberg Institute on Migration and Mobility, La Sirena, New York Legal Assistance Group, Make the Road New York, Workers Justice Project, Interference Archive, New York Public Library, Bronx Council on the Arts, The New School.