CONNECT with the CityThe New Colossus
A Photographic Celebration of San Diego’s Immigrant Communities
John Raymond Mireles
June 21, 2024 – October 31, 2024
About Exposure
The Exposure Photo Fellowship, a pioneering endeavor, is San Diego’s first-ever municipal photo fellowship program. It's a unique platform offering artists an unparalleled opportunity to explore San Diego's civic and social issues using the impactful medium of photography. A photo fellow is partnered with a City department or program, fostering creative engagement, participatory strategies, and artistic lens-based approaches that align with City priorities.
For the inaugural fellowship, San Diego-based artist and photographer John Raymond Mireles has joined forces with the Office of Immigrant Affairs. Together, they have crafted a series of photographic exhibitions guided by the City’s Welcoming San Diego strategic plan. Titled The New Colossus, these exhibitions pay tribute to the vibrancy of San Diego’s immigrant communities.
The Exposure Photo Fellowship is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.
Artist Statement
At the base of the Statue of Liberty, a sonnet by Emma Lazarus bears the words that underlie the mythology of American immigration, “Give me your tired, your poor. Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” While many are familiar with these lines, this poem’s title, The New Colossus, is generally unknown. Yet virtually every conversation about immigration takes the words famously inscribed at the base of America’s most iconic monument as its starting point. No exhibition of art addressing immigration can ignore these words, nor the promise they have woven into our American identity.
The exhibitions that form the core of the project developed for the Exposure Photo Fellowship, much like the Statue of Liberty, serve a similar purpose: to warmly welcome immigrants into our homeland, particularly, San Diego. Instead of being crafted from copper, this series of exhibitions utilizes the medium of photography - but its intent remains unchanged. Given the vast scale of this citywide exhibition, the label of “colossus” is not without merit.
The New Colossus title implies the existence of an old one or multiple old ones. The reality is that immigration, and our discussion of it are issues older than our country itself. However, it is also always a new topic, fraught with celebration and controversy. By adopting this title, this series of exhibitions both acknowledges America's history of immigration - while also welcoming its place in our present and future.
- John Raymond Mireles, 2024
About the Artwork
The Exposure Photo Fellowship, a platform partly dedicated to the development and publicly displaying photographic artwork, has made a significant impact. Through this initiative, artist John Raymond Mireles has fostered connections with San Diego immigrant communities, engaging in community outreach and personal interactions. This collaborative process has resulted in a series of environmental portraits, capturing the essence of foreign-born and second-generation individuals who are integral to the city’s fabric. These photographic portraits not only connect viewers with their subjects, but also with the diverse communities reflected, fostering a sense of belonging and connection. Seeing themselves or someone from their community in a picture can be a powerful source of empowerment and validation, strengthening the bond between the viewer and the artwork.
Mireles uses a high-resolution camera and studio lighting equipment to create technically sophisticated images reminiscent of high-value magazine photography. By photographing community members in the same style as a celebrity photograph, Mireles seeks to uplift and celebrate them. The resulting artworks are exhibited using various traditional and innovative methods.
Homage
This exhibition celebrates and honors the cultural pride of immigration, a narrative that spans generations. The individuals, proudly wear traditional clothing, are presented in highly decorative frames with elaborate moldings and gold finishes. Most are second-generation Americans, their parents having been born abroad. By wearing their traditional garments and standing amidst scenes reminiscent of their families’ countries of origin, they exude a profound cultural pride, reminding us that the story of immigration is not a single transborder journey but a rich tapestry proudly passed along through generations, interwoven with the American experience.
At the City Administration Building Lobby
202 C Street, San Diego, CA 92101
Colonade I
At the City Administration Building Breezeway
Resembling the majestic columns that once welcomed ancient cultures to their temples and places of learning, the portraits in this exhibition, command attention and respect, forming a grand colonnade into City Hall. Facing C Street are portraits of San Diego-based artists, and facing the plaza are portraits of San Diego-based workers and business owners, all born abroad. Aligned with The New Colossus theme of the exhibition series, these larger-than-life photos offering a captivating experience for visitors to City Hall.
At the City Administration Building Breezeway
202 C Street, San Diego, CA 92101
Vien Dong
At the City Administration Building Breezeway
Vien Dong, a supermarket adjacent to the City Heights neighborhood, is a treasure trove that caters to the Southeast Asian communities and a myriad of other immigrant communities in the vicinity. The foodstuffs, intriguingly exotic to many native-born Americans, are everyday staples for the Vietnamese, Somali, Haitian, Cambodian, Ethiopian, and other ethnic groups who frequent the store. This series offers a fascinating glimpse into this community asset, capturing the still life of the vibrant fruits, canned goods, fish, and other items that adorn its shelves. The portraits of the diverse employees, hailing from Latin America, Africa, Southeast Asia, and beyond, underscore how Vien Dong is unique representation of the various immigrant communities throughout the city. Presented In the café store front at City Hall, Vien Dong Intriguingly re-centers this community asset form City Heights to the seat of City government Downtown.
At the City Administration Building Breezeway
202 C Street, San Diego, CA 92101
The Golden Age
At College – Rolando Branch Library
In the popular imagination of immigration to the United States, images of 19th-century Ellis Island are often placed front and center. As expressed through books, movies, and politics, a romantic notion exists of that era in American history. The underlying motivations of immigration to this country haven’t changed. People still come to this country for a better life and are willing to work hard to succeed. San Diego, as one of the busiest land border crossings in the world and port of entry for many immigrants, refugees, and asylees, is, in effect, a new Ellis Island.
This installation bridges the modern era and the romanticized past, presenting contemporary portraits of foreign-born San Diegans. These portraits, painstakingly created to evoke the aesthetic of 19th-century photographs, are a testament to the enduring human spirit that transcends time. The images are printed using a unique process replicating that look of aged tintypes and wet collodion prints from that bygone era, further emphasizing the connection between the past and the present. The portraits, are displayed in artist-collected antique frames, invite the audience to reflect on the shared history and experiences of past and present.
At College – Rolando Branch Library
6600 Montezuma Rd, San Diego, CA 92115
In Their Own Words
While photographs can speak volumes, there are times when words are essential to paint a more comprehensive picture. This exhibition, with its unique approach, amplifies the voice of the individuals depicted. Their personal narratives, recounting their journey to San Diego, are not just shared but are bravely superimposed upon their portraits. The artist, in a series of interviews, captured their stories, which now accompany the finished photograph. Rather than being placed alongside the photograph, the printed text was carefully affixed to the print, forging an inseparable bond between their words and the final image.
It's important to note that some of the photographs in this exhibition touch upon the theme of violence. This is a stark reality for many asylum seekers arriving in San Diego. By exploring this issue, the exhibition aims to foster a deeper understanding and empathy within our community.
At Rancho Peñasquitos Branch Library
13330 Salmon River Rd, San Diego, CA 92129
Main Street USA
The vibrance of any city lies significantly in its small business owners and the workers who keep the wheels of local commerce moving. This exhibition showcases portraits of foreign-born San Diegan business owners and workers in their work environment.
At City Heights – Weingart Branch Library
3795 Fairmount Ave, San Diego, CA 92105
Colonnade II & III
Resembling the majestic columns that once welcomed ancient cultures to their temples and places of learning, the portraits in this exhibition, command attention and respect, forming a grand colonnade into the library. Aligned with The New Colossus theme of the exhibition series, these larger-than-life photos offering a captivating experience for visitors to City Hall.
Colonnade II at Pacific Beach Taylor Branch Library
4275 Cass St, San Diego, CA 92109
Colonnade III at Valencia Park / Malcolm X Branch Library
5148 Market St, San Diego, CA 92114
Duality
As new arrivals, immigrants often lead two lives based on their country of origin and their new life in America. The artwork on display visually demonstrates the duality that defines the immigrant experience through photographs of individuals in the clothing of their culture of origin and as they appear as assimilated Americans.
At San Ysidro Branch Library
4235 Beyer Blvd, San Diego, CA 92173
Individual Photographs
Soulha, Somali at Point Loma – Hervey Branch Library; Bibiche, Republic of Congo at Linda Vista Branch Library; and Amand, Haiti at University Community Branch Library
Linda Vista Branch Library
2160 Ulric St, San Diego, CA 92111
Point Loma Hervey Branch Library
3701 Voltaire St, San Diego, CA 92107
University Community Branch Library
4155 Governor Dr, San Diego, CA 92122
