Motus Theater’s UndocuAmerica: Reclaiming Our Presence Boulder visual art exhibition invites visitors to engage with art that centers undocumented community members’ stories through a wide variety of mediums including photography, illustrations, films, and animations. At a time when people who are undocumented are often demonized as “other” for political gain, the art in this exhibit invites us to look past our differences and find our shared humanity. Regardless of individual beliefs about immigration policy, this project allows visitors to learn more about the impact of these policies on the lives of undocumented families.
Dairy Arts Center’s McMahon Gallery:
Exhibition Opening 5pm;
Performance 6pm.
This UndocuAmerica exhibit showcases murals of Motus UndocuAmerica monologists created by Edica Pacha. And artwork, developed in collaboration with Motus Theater, for Motus immigration programming by Sebastián Sifuentes.
This exhibition and performance kicks off Motus’ programming series “There no THEM in U.S.”, a celebration of art and stories that help US in the U.S recognize our shared humanity through powerful personal stories at the intersections between immigrant rights, LGBTQIA+ rights, racial justice and criminal legal reform. More information below.
Opening Performance 6pm:
Catch Alejandro Fuentes-Mena presenting his monologue, “Deport Me” as part of the exhibit opening remarks. June 15th will be another opportunity to catch a performance.
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4:00-5:30pm.
Women of Resolution weaves the stories of four Colorado women — Ingrid Encalada Latorre, Sandra Lopez, Rosa Sabido, and Araceli Velasquez — who took sanctuary to prevent the separation of their families through deportation. Guest readers include: Boulder County Sheriff Curtis Johnson and District Attorney Michael Dougherty. Featuring award-winning photos of Joel Dyer and musician Teresita Lozano. More info. More info.
More information about this exhibit and performances below:
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Edica Pacha created the original murals featuring Motus Theater’s UndocuAmerica monologists. Pacha's love affair with creativity began with film photography, and long hours in the darkroom, at the age of 14. She took this gift and studied further at Rhode Island School of Design and Prescott College. During this time she expanded into video, installation, and performance art. Her studies took her deep into the power of creativity and how this impacted community. Pacha currently is focusing on large-scale photographic murals using a unique ‘layered in camera’ photographic style, that explores the mystical and mysterious sides of the feminine. She is interested in themes that deeply impact the human experience and uses the medium to address issues that we are currently facing such as immigration and indigenous rights.
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Sebastián Sifuentes (SEBSIRO) is a mixed media artist, graphic designer, and illustrator based in Boulder. Sifuentes was born in Lima, Peru, where he began his studies in graphic design. He studied traditional painting at Eastern Michigan University where he earned a BFA and a minor in sociology. Sifuentes' love for woodblock painting and textures has influenced his style and techniques as an illustrator and graphic designer. In his work, he plays with traditional media and digital means to achieve his unique hybrid, organic style, and details left slightly to chance. Sifuentes collaborated with Motus Theater's artistic executive director, Kirsten Wilson, to design the seven beautiful lotería cards that accompany Motus' SALSA Lotería Monologues (2015).
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Kirsten Wilson (MFA) is responsible for Motus’ artistic executive direction. Founder of Motus Theater, she’s a narrative and multimedia artist, master teacher of autobiographical monologue work, and the editor of the Motus Monologues and Shoebox Stories podcasts. She collaborates with individuals living on the frontlines of violence to create compelling narratives aimed at opening hearts and minds. She has been collaborating with leaders who are undocumented since 2013, people who were formerly incarcerated since 2019, and transgender and nonbinary leaders since 2023.
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Motus Theater’s mission is to create original theater to support community conversation on critical issues of our time. We aim to use the power of art to build alliances across diverse segments of our community and country. Motus collaborates with people on the frontlines of violence in the U.S. to tell autobiographical monologues to create momentum for strategic policy change, and develop multimedia history performances through the lens of race and class.
Motus’ work on immigration, the UndocuAmerica project, started in 2012 when Motus began developing and presenting monologues with DACAmented leaders. Since then, the majority of Motus’ programs have focused on immigration. Performances center the experiences of undocumented immigrants and uplift their humanity to help dominant-culture audiences & leaders understand the impacts of aggressive policies on undocumented immigrants and families. Motus’ artistic work on immigration has reached over 420,000 people and has been featured in NPR, Washington Post, USA Today, CPR, Rocky Mountain PBS & others.
