Goshen art exhibit raises awareness of injustice on the southern border

GOSHEN, Ind. - An art exhibit in Goshen is aiming to bring awareness to the brutality experienced along the southern border.

With real quotes from families split up, “No more kids in cages” started Saturday at the Goshen Art House and will continue until March 31st.

“No matter what country you were born in, we shouldn’t treat children like this,” Amanda, the artist, said.

Amanda has been painting every day since July and has over 180 watercolor paintings – 75 of which were hung up in an art exhibit at the Goshen Art House Saturday.

“I think it’s easy to just be like ‘well I can’t fix that’ kind of move on with life. So I decided I am going to do this every day to give myself the motivation and as a reminder,” Amanda said.

The purpose?

“To understand just how horrible the situation is on our southern border,” Larry Crump, a board member at the Goshen Art House and event organizer said.

“I feel like it shouldn’t be a partisan thing to say that we should, it is our responsibility to accept asylum seekers. It is our responsibility to hold them inhumane conditions,” Amanda said.

There’s more than what meets the eye with these art pieces.

She has light paintings of deer, bunnies, and even horses with impactful quotes on them as well as packing a deeper message with real stories of families being broken apart.

“You should be able to read the quotes about – a lot of the kids talk about being hungry all the time,” she said.

When you look closer you can read actual quotes from real people dealing with immigration and detainment centers at the southern border, the organizer tells me it gets intense.

“I was stirred by the paintings. They’re very emotional,” Crump said.

The pieces are inspired by project amplify, a national campaign to establish legal protections for the children in government care.

“This needs to be a discussion. People need to have this at the forefront of their thoughts because nothing is going to change unless we can talk about it and this was a wonderful way to start that discussion,” he said.

Besides the art, there was a local musician playing music, food, and presentations from the National Immigrant Justice Center and the Center for Healing and Hope.