“If you ate today, thank a farmworker,” reads a small sign in the MSU Union Art Gallery. Surrounding this sign are many others like it, paired with pieces of art that tell the story of migrant farmworkers and their importance in Michigan.
These are part of the new art exhibition “Las Alas Invisibles: The Unseen Wings,” on view from March 18 to 30 at the MSU Union. Luz Vazquez, a third-year political science major and first-generation migrant farmworker student, collaborated with peers to create the exhibition to honor and recognize the migrant farmworker community at MSU for National Farmworker Awareness Week.
Vazquez currently studies political science and public policy in the College of Social Science and brings a dedication to advocating for migrant farmworker awareness, as she grew up in the community. She identified an opportunity to honor farmworkers and took it upon herself to explore how to share these important stories in an exhibition.
“With my background experience and knowledge in farm work, I wanted this exhibit to show who farmworkers are authentically by giving a glimpse into their lives,” said Vazquez. “I often read stories on farmworkers featuring their photos, yet there is so much more that people don’t see or understand. Farmworkers remain unrecognized and invisible when they shouldn’t be because they provide our three meals.”
This realization led Vazquez to the exhibition’s theme, which centered around the migration of butterflies. Throughout the exhibition, viewers will see butterflies hanging from the ceiling and on the walls, paralleling the migration of monarch butterflies and seasonal farmworker labor from Mexico to Michigan.
“This exhibition’s name, ‘Las Alas Invisibles: The Unseen Wings,’ says it all,” said Elias Lopez, senior associate director of the College Assistance Migrant Program, or CAMP. “Farmworkers are the engine of agriculture and often go unrecognized for their contribution. There is no question that farmworkers feed America. [The exhibition] provides a window to farmworkers and their sacrifices for all of us.”
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Categories: Michigan, Education