The Power of Portraiture: Humanizing Deportation Through Art

The Power of Portraiture: Humanizing Deportation Through Art

The Power of Portraiture: Humanizing Deportation Through Art

The bustling heart of New York City is a far cry from the remote deserts and rivers that mark the boundary between two nations, but Baruch College Professor Lizbeth De La Cruz Santana has spent years bridging distance and communities through the power of art and storytelling. 

Her latest project, El Paso del Norte –– a large-scale mural hand-painted by the professor’s students –– is now on a 2,100 mile journey from New York to El Paso. On May 2^nd, Professor De La Cruz Santana, one of her students, and several immigration advocacy groups, will march across the border carrying the murals –– unfurling them on the other side. 

They will then install the mural on a vast canvas of concrete along the Rio Grande/Rio Bravo; near the historic El Puente Negro bridge area in Ciudad Juárez.

According to Professor De La Cruz, “this project is not just about creating art –– it’s about telling stories that need to be heard, about humanizing the dehumanized.”

Project Description

The mural features thirteen portraits, each ten feet by ten feet and equipped with QR codes, and brings to life the faces and voices of deported veterans, asylum seekers, and undocumented youth drawn from the archives of Humanizing Deportation, a community based digital audio storytelling platform.

An unusual aspect of the mural is its interactive component. QR codes accompany each portrait and link to detailed stories of the individuals depicted, allowing passersby to hear directly from the migrants in their own voices.

See the power of art and storytelling – Click Here

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