In Trump’s America, the Westmoreland Dares to Take on Immigration Debate Through Art

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Dua Zeglam & Khalid Azzouz and their 2 children: Zizo, 3 and Zayd, 3 mos. from Tripoli, Libya. (Photo by Lynn Johnson)

As debates over DACA and other immigration issues shake up Washington DC, the Westmoreland Museum of American Art takes a stand on this contemporary topic in its latest exhibit, Emigration-Immigration-Migration: Five Photographic Perspectives.

The new show, which will be on view from January through April, will feature the work of local photographers Annie O’Neill, Lynn Johnson, Brian Cohen, Nate Guidry, and Scott Goldsmith. The main subjects of the work? Immigrants and their relatives who make up the population of and have molded the city of Pittsburgh.

Jose Luis Ibarra gets a hug from his daughter, Brianna Ibarra Romana, 7, on the back porch at their home in Pittsburgh. (Photo by Nate Guidry)

By focusing on this microcosm, the artists hope to spark a meaningful dialogue amongst not only artists but viewers on the subject of ethnicity, nationalism, race and heritage in the American tradition. They do so through the colorful snapshots that capture the diversity and depth of the lives of these Pittsburgh locals.

Polish Club, Connellsville (Photo by Brian Cohen)
The works in the show were first displayed in the 2017 exhibit Out of Many – Stories of Migration at the American Jewish Museum, curated by Laura Domencic and Brian Cohen, in Pittsburgh.

The latest exhibit will be celebrated at the Opening Reception at the museum on Saturday, January 20th from 6:30-8pm, including music and refreshments.

Emigration-Immigration-Migration
will be on view from January 20th through April 22nd.

To learn more or to purchase tickets for the Opening Reception, you can visit the Westmoreland’s website at http://thewestmoreland.org/visit/.