LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes — We Belong Here Public Art Projection, Los Angeles, California
LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes in downtown Los Angeles has launched We Belong Here, a region-wide public art initiative that transforms its exterior walls into a nightly projection of resistance. Developed in collaboration with the California Community Foundation, the Japanese American National Museum, SPARC, and MOLAA, the project confronts the ongoing realities faced by immigrant and undocumented communities across Los Angeles.
I am honored to have two of my works—Separation and Revolt Rebel—featured among the more than 30 images projected at LA Plaza. These pieces reflect my commitment to using printmaking as a tool for visibility, empowerment, and truth-telling.
Separation addresses the trauma of family division at the border, depicting the iconic “running family” silhouette split down the center, yet still reaching for each other—a visual insistence on resilience.
Revolt Rebel, printed in multiple skin tones, amplifies solidarity and collective uprising through layered print processes and bold graphic symbolism.
Each night from sunset to dawn, these images are illuminated across LA Plaza’s historic façade, located directly across from Olvera Street—site of the infamous 1931 immigration raid that marked one of the largest unconstitutional deportations in U.S. history. The projection stands as a reminder, a resistance, and a refusal to remain silent.
The installation also includes works by fellow artists Ernesto Yerena Montejano, Lalo Alcaraz, Joel García, Las Chicas Peligrosas, Lilia Ramírez “Liliflor”, Man One, Mario Hernández, and John Fleissner—each contributing powerful visual responses to immigrant struggle, solidarity, and belonging. Additionally, LA Plaza’s facade windows feature 13 neon pieces by artist Patrick Martinez, illuminating urgent messages about justice and the American experience.
Together, the artworks across all partnering institutions affirm the same truth: