November 17, 2013 from 2 – 4pm
Film screening, panel discussion, and temporary installation.
The MAC and Make Art with Purpose (MAP) will be presenting Academy Award winning director Theo Rigby’s interactive project, IMMIGRANT NATION. Composed of a series of short films about the American immigration experience across the U.S., combined with live events and an online platform where web users create and share their own immigrant story.
The program begins with a screening of one of the films from the series, followed by a community discussion with a panel featuring Roberto Corono, Bill Holston, Kate McLean, and Theo Rigby, moderated by Janeil Engelstad. A reception will follow that includes story telling stations where the audience can share their immigrant story, whether it is their own or their ancestor’s. These stories will be used to create an on the spot mural by illustrator / muralist Anthony Weeks and also be added to the on-line IMMIGRANT NATION project. Logging into the IMMIGRANT NATION site via Facebook, users enter an innovative platform that immediately personalizes the experience through social mapping and geo-location. Within the platform, users can access their immigration story as well as add their history to a data-rich timeline to chart the context of immigration in the US over the last two centuries.
At the heart of IMMIGRANT NATION is a simple premise: nearly every person living in the United States has a story about an immigrant journey to share, be it their own or the voyage of a relative in the past. An interactive project, IMMIGRANT NATION uses personal narratives to give users multiple entry points into the issue of immigration.
The MAC is committed to bringing to Dallas exhibitions that address cultural and social issues that are relevant to the community through our artistic and educational programming. Co-producing this event aligns directly with our mission of creating a forum and dialogue between diverse audiences that spreads awareness concerning issues that directly impact society, culture and business.
This program was made possible in part with a grant from Humanities Texas, the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
