Exhibition Open Saturdays 6/1, 6/8, and 6/22, 2024 from 6:30-7:30pm, with a different performance each Saturday at 7:30pm.
Motus Theater’s UndocuAmerica: Reclaiming Our Presence Denver 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.
This special exhibition is presented at Redline’s satellite location at the Evans School in Denver as part of its 2024 annual exhibition Stories_UnderScored (more info below).
6:30-7:30pm: Exhibition Opening Reception with community tea and cookies
Motus Performance at 7:30pm-9pm. Exhibition Open Saturdays 6/1, 6/8, and 6/22, 2024 from 6:30-7:30pm, with a different performance each Saturday at 7:30pm.
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’ Denver art + performamnce 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.
Motus Theater’s “There’s no THEM in U.S.” series is part of RedLine Contemporary Art Center’s 2024 annual exhibition Stories_UnderScored.
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Stories_UnderScored, seeks to center stories that are widely known in the communities from which they come, and which are foundational to our collective memory. RedLine acknowledges that it is often stories and histories that are taught or published that dominate a collective understanding of the past to inform our understanding of the present and future. Stories_Underscored seeks to broaden this understanding by presentings a yearlong series of contemporary art exhibitions, programs, performances and events that tell stories less shared but are unequivocally central to our collective memory and histories. Stories_Underscored will present stories shared by artists and community partners, offering opportunities to explore the ancestries where these stories originate.
Opening Performance 7:30pm:
Catch Laura Peniche, Tania Chairez, and Alejandro Fuentes-Mena, presenting their UndocuAmerica monologues as part of the exhibit opening remarks. More info on upcoming performances below:
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Exhibition Reception 6:30-7:30pm; Performance 7:30-9pm.
Motus UndocuAmerica monologist Victor Galvan and Motus JustUs monologist, Candice Bailey share personal monologues about their experiences of multinational private prison corporations & immigrant detention centers. Music from Spirit of Grace. More Info.
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Exhibition Reception 6:30-7:30pm; Performance 7:30-9pm.
Motus’ arts-based Immigrant Heritage Month / LGBTQIA+ Pride event of the season with monologues from TRANSformative Stories and UndocuAmerica projects by LGBTQIA+ immigrant monologists. More info.
MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE EXHIBITION & EVENT SERIES 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.
Tickets
Includes Both 6:30pm Reception & 7:30pm Performance
More “There’s no THEM in the U.S.” Programs
