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I was accepted to attend Platteforum’s Community Mentee Residency in Denver from 11/15/23 until the opening of exhibition which was due to run 1/12/24-1/29/24. Unfortunately so much went down and due to multiple breach of contract from Platteforum + the executive director Michael Gadlin, I had to make the difficult decision to halt final exhibition because I could no longer take all the misogynistic abuse and pretend as if nothing happened and smile for the cameras even though I was more than halfway through to the finale. The residency caused such insurmountable stress it started taking a severe toll on my physical and mental health. I was dedicating more than 80 hours in the studio each week and completely left to fend for myself while all the staff took vacations and enjoyed their holiday break.

More than myself, I felt the need to protect the dignity of the immigrant leaders who I am representing through my project. These leaders donated their precious time to be interviewed for my project, believed and trusted in my vision to represent their most vulnerable life stories. How can I go through with such a fraudulent experience when I have a social obligation to express the truth. I have never had a situation like this happen before as I am a staunch finish what you start type of person, but in this case, it truly was for the best before more trauma was inflicted. The experience became a benchmark lesson for me in how to approach institutional power plays. I made an exit performance that exemplifies the silent torture I had to endure for over a month and a half.

I was initially selected for Platteforum residency with my social impact media project called “ENTEREXIT: Animated Immigrant Stories”. ENTEREXIT x Platteforum was going to feature the animated immigration stories of Luiz Antezana Alba (Denver/CO), Nicole Solis-Sison (Brooklyn/NY) and my own story. I had few other immigrant leaders scheduled to interview but Platteforum did not have the technical resources or support to host what is a heavily media based project. I wish they would have been transparent with me before I came out to Denver so I could have made a fully informed decision as to whether or not to decline the residency invite.

More about ENTEREXIT project:

>ENTEREXIT<presents a series of experimental animations paired with altar sculptures about the mixed migration stories of immigrant leaders from our nation who have decided to embrace America as home. The interview based animations show the contrasting realities of the American immigration system and the degradations perpetrated by its border regimes while also showing the tenacity of people who live borderless, imagining a life beyond their reality. ENTEREXIT presents an interactive art experience designed to create a boundary blurring experience.

What does home mean to us? Why do we long to belong to someplace? How does belonging to a place, whether physical or imagined, create our sense of identity? What motivates immigrants to stay or leave? What does the American Dream mean? How are immigrants embraced and othered at the same time? How do we create a sense of home without a physical place or environment?

>ENTEREXIT< animations seek to help humanize conversations, perspectives, dismantle prejudice and hate surrounding immigrants through storytelling, cultural placemaking, restorative healing, empathy and understanding. The social impact animation series is a call for coexistence for a world in which individuals can unite in celebration of our commonality – inviting the viewer to see themselves in the sameness we all share to help invoke collective connectivity. 

Although there was no final exhibition, I wanted to commemorate the tremendous amount of work I and the immigrant leaders dedicated towards my project on my blog.

Exhibition sketches

Studio/gallery

Luis (sand animation)

Nicole animation (stop motion, video, film, shadow puppet)

I plan to continue ENTEREXIT project in 2024 at my year-long BRIClab Video Art Residency in Brooklyn as a webisode series online. BRIC is much better suited to host a project of this caliber as they are a full blown media center providing rental access to an array of tech equipments, technical resources, media based classes and a supportive community.

The art industry is jaded. Im sure this wont be the last of the many monsters I will encounter in navigating the art industry, but as long as I have my self value and dignity intact, I know I will be fine. Rejection is gods protection.