Miami art fair exhibit protests Alligator Alcatraz
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Artist Clarence James in front of his piece "Cruelty is The Point." Photo: Martin Vassolo/Axios
Alongside international works of art on display at Scope Art Show this week, one exhibit is protesting the Alligator Alcatraz immigration detention center in the Florida Everglades.
The big picture: Protest art — and political demonstrations — are not new to Miami Art Week.
- Last year, pro-Palestine demonstrators greeted attendees at Art Basel.
Driving the news: "Cruelty is Their Point — but Another World Is Possible" was commissioned by Amnesty International USA.
- The human rights group collaborated with Miami artist Agua Dulce and Washington, D.C.-based Clarence James.
The two-piece exhibit urges attendees to sign a petition calling for the closure of Alligator Alcatraz and the Krome Detention Center, citing reports of substandard conditions and lack of access to legal or medical services.
State of play: Alligator Alcatraz is embroiled in three federal lawsuits about its practices, including a complaint from detainees over legal access, the Associated Press reports.
- Florida officials say concerns over legal access have been addressed and moved to dismiss that lawsuit, per the AP.
Zoom in: Agua Dulce's "Untitled (a hope is but a dream is but a plan yet put to action)" is an altar to those being detained at Alligator Alcatraz.
- Attendees can make an offering of coffee, sand or water — held in cafecito cups. The altar is adorned with compacted mud and rocks taken from outside the detention center.
- "I'm not trying to sell you a piece. You can't really buy anything from here. … What I am selling and what I am promoting is compassion and care and humanism and art," the artist said.
"Cruelty is The Point," by Clarence James, is a mixed-media collage combining pieces of fencing, archival photographs and government immigration enforcement posters.
- It seeks to send a message about "how cruelty repeats itself through the centuries under new names and new uniforms," per the artist's statement.