Student Displays Pilot Program Launches to Showcase Student Creativity
Now through May 31, 2024, the exhibit Healing and (Re)Building Connection Through Art will be on display in Langson Library. The first installation in the UCI Libraries’ Student Displays Pilot Program, the student exhibit features artwork inspired by a fall 2023 UC Irvine travel course to Mexico on undocumented immigrant experiences taught by Laura E. Enriquez, UCI associate professor of Chicano/Latino studies.
temporary student display in Langson Library
The trip was the fourth organized by Enriquez in collaboration with the Building Binational Bridges program and the UCI DREAM Center. It was supported by the UC Alianza MX, Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships, UCI Study Abroad Center, Center for Educational Partnerships, and other campus resources.
Eleven immigration-impacted students (undergrads and grad students) expanded on an autoethnographic project to document their experiences traveling to Mexico. Their project explores three questions:
- What wounds has the border inflicted on immigration-impacted young adults – undocumented and US citizens alike?
- What does it look and feel like to cross borders and engage in healing in the borderlands?
- What is the impact of engaging in such healing journeys for immigration-impacted young adults and their families?
The Langson display, designed and installed by the UCI students, features scrapbook pages, poems, photos, and art that document their experiences and engage in these questions with the intention of healing themselves and others from the wounds inflicted by immigration policies.
Contributors to the display include UCI students Giovanna Itzel, Kitana Carbajal Juarez, Erica Chacon Cabadas, Breana Figueroa Perez, Melissa Martinez, Jacqueline Marquez-Ornelas, Citlali Rodriguez, Lexi Romero, Aransa Sanchez, Katherine Trujillo Salazar, and Dahana Urrea Cruz; Prof. Enriquez; and artists-in-residence and community partners Madai Zamora and Baruck Racine.
About the UCI Libraries Student Displays Pilot Program
Launched in spring 2024, the UCI Libraries’ Student Displays Pilot Program shares the work and creativity of UCI students with the UCI and local community. Temporary displays in UCI's Langson and Science Libraries, created by students, can include original student art, writing, research, and more in both physical and digital formats.
Proposals are welcome from UCI students, student organizations, faculty, and staff.
To learn more about the program, see our program guidelines and proposal form and visit our program FAQs.