The Pillars of Our Work
Radical Creativity
Dignidad Beyond Borders has collaborated with people directly affected by deportation and return to introduce creativity as a form of exploring one’s own life stories. We propose art as a way to share and reflect on lived experience and art-making as spaces to build community and feel supported in re-narrating ourselves.
Archiving Narratives
Through zines, recorded conversations, and artworks, we push for the archiving and re-membering of community experiences, stories, and sentires. We understand the importance of memory-making and legacy within a “History” that continuously attempts to erase us communities impacted by border violence. We view archiving and sharing narratives as an affront to erasure and as a form of collective history-making.
Artist Healing
We strive to make space for artists to pause and take time, for themselves, for their communities, to acknowledge artwork and storytelling as work that can be both draining and healing. At Dignidad Beyond Borders we acknowledge the need to heal and recuperate from sharing, the need to look inward, and the need to rest. We’ve collaborated to create spaces like an artists retreat for 10 community artists to rest and support each other in ongoing work.
Spaces of Dialogue and Skill Sharing
We firmly believe community knowledge and first-hand knowledge is expert knowledge. We have collaborated to build spaces where those directly affected by border violence can share beyond their testimony, where they can share their expertise, their skills, their radical imaginations. We have everything we need to build just and liberated futures.
