What It Feels Like to Be Free

What It Feels Like to Be Free–No Kids in Cages

is a project conceived by Andrea Vargas Mendoza that I was fortunate to participate in. It started as a Warehouse 21 youth project in the summer of 2019, where I assisted with the youth groups in painting portraits of the 6 children who had recently died in detention at the US border. The resulting work was shown at W-21, and then I assisted in 2020 with a Vital Spaces window display including the original pieces plus Vargas Mendoza’s paintings on paper bags. Eventually Vargas Mendoza’s images made with the youth were also printed as a wrap on Axle Contemporary art truck with the theme “Melt the ICE”, and displayed around the community.