First presented at the Art Institute of Chicago in 1990, this exhibition by Susan Meiselas intertwines documentary photographs of Central America during the 1970s and 1980s (from Nicaragua and El Salvador) along with panoramic images from the US/Mexico border taken in 1989. Additional photographs of the US/Mexico border taken in 2018 are also featured in a site-specific gallery installation. The exhibition invites viewers to see immigration in the context of economic and political crises in the region.
Today, the work feels newly urgent. US immigration enforcement has expanded through militarization and constant surveillance, with leaders using fear-driven language to divide communities and legitimize brutal forms of control.
These photographs ask us to look carefully, to recognize familiar patterns, and to hold on to our shared humanity across the globe. People move in search of safety, possibility, and a better life for their families, which is a universal hope that crosses borders, generations, and time.
Talk and reception:
Friday, January 16th; talk will begin at 6pm, with reception to follow
Join Photographic Center Northwest (PCNW) for an artist talk with acclaimed photographer and Magnum Photos member, Susan Meiselas, on her career and insights into her 1990 Crossings exhibition and its relevance to today’s political and cross-cultural landscape. She will be in conversation with Sylvia Wolf, curator, educator, author, and Director Emeritus of the Henry Art Gallery Seattle, who co-developed Crossings with the artist for the Art Institute of Chicago in 1990. Talk will be held on January 16th beginning at 6pm; artist reception will follow talk, beginning approximately at 7:30pm.
The lecture will be held at Seattle University in the LeRoux Conference Center on the ground floor of the Student Center building next to the Library. It is just one block south of PCNW on the Seattle University campus, and attendees are encouraged to join us in PCNW’s gallery directly following the lecture for the artist reception.
