On Monday, Jan. 20, many places throughout the Boston area offered free admission in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The Institute of Contemporary Art was one of the places offering free admission to all, not including the LOVE IS CALLING exhibit. I went around 1 p.m., and stayed for about two hours, as I wanted to go to the Franklin Park Zoo, which was also free that day. I definitely could have stayed much longer at the ICA if given the opportunity of having free time, but time slipped away from me.
The ICA held exhibits honoring those who have been affected by the United States’ stance on deportation, DACA and immigration. Trump’s new administration struck many people particularly close to home, as so many people in this country know someone who is illegal or has a loved one who is undocumented. Even if you didn’t know that about someone before, it becomes a scary reality for those people and there is a lot to lose if they get caught. Many times, they are sent back to a place they haven’t visited in decades, if ever, and they are left lost and alone with nothing at all. The exhibit is called “When Home Won’t Let You Stay: Migration through Contemporary Art,” and it will be closing soon, as it is set to run until January 26, 2020. According to the ICA website, “the United Nations estimates that one out of every seven people in the world is an international or internal migrant who moves by choice or by force, with great success or great struggle.”
One of the first pieces I found myself indulged in was the 1988 poem called “Home,” by Warsan Shire. This poem talked about how those who do leave their homes to immigrate usually do so because they don’t have many options. If there is a war going on in their country, or poverty, or abuse of the people, etc., there should be a way for those people to find sanctuary in another country, rather than simply suffering. No one wants to leave their home, unless their home isn’t safe anymore. Especially when where they are migrating to isn’t a guaranteed safe place, either. The possibility of losing their children to deportation services is terrifying, but the possibility of the child losing their life is significantly worse. Next to printed versions of this poem, there was a single mirror that said, “EVERYTHING WILL BE TAKEN AWAY”. Shire did this because you can’t see or read the mirror without also seeing yourself, and it is terrifying to think of losing everything you have, especially when it isn’t much to begin with.
The next exhibit that particularly caught my eye was called “The American Library,” by Yinka Shonibare CBE. It was a room filled with books covered in colorful Dutch wax printed cotton textile, a symbol of African identity, according to The American Library’s website. On each book’s colorful spine, names were painted in gold of Americans who immigrated or whose ancestors immigrated to the United States. Other books had the names of “African Americans who relocated or whose parents relocated out of the American South during the Great Migration.” Some of the names were of those who have made a great impact on American society today, including Barack Obama, Drake, Steve Jobs, and even Donald Trump.
Other rooms included videos telling stories of immigrants and the struggles they faced. Even more rooms had clothes and shoes representing the lives lost to immigration. It was a very powerful way to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day.