We Are You Project International

Joyce Gordon Gallery presents “WE ARE YOU INTERNATIONAL’s “CALIFORNIA EXHIBITION,” a traveling art show organized by the WE ARE YOU PROJECT, which is the first comprehensive coast-to-coast artistic overview of the current state of Latino socio-cultural, political, and economic conditions in the 21st Century.  

The “We Are You” (W.A.Y.) Project was initiated in 2005, with a commission by Duda Penteado, a Brazilian-born filmmaker, poet, and visual artist, to create an image to promote LCA’s Golden Age Awards’ gala in New York City.  Penteado coined the term “We Are You” as the title for his commissioned work, appearing first as a printed poster, then a heroic painting, poem, song and now a major evolving documentary-film about the nature of Latino life and visual art in the 21st Century.
Today, the US Congress is grappling with Immigration Reform, an issue that primarily or generally affects Latinos, especially involving Central American and Mesoamerican US immigration.  So far, the appalling proposed solutions (for the most part) foster further alienation, isolation, and increased suffering, because the remedies involve the costly construction of higher, longer, unattractive and ecologically disastrous fence (“The Wall”) along the Southwestern border, additional “waiting-periods,” more bureaucratic red-tape.  Thus, the recommended reforms do more harm than good; and therefore, “WE ARE YOU INTERNATIONAL’s “CALIFORNIA EXHIBITION” furnishes another voice addressing these relevant issues from a visual arts perspective, providing keen insights into the full scope of Latin culture, art, and life. 

The exhibit is comprised of prominent contemporary Hispanic masters, whose trans-cultural pan-Latino-heritages can be traced to a dozen diverse Ibero-American nations (including Mexico, Puerto-Rico, Cuba, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Uruguay, Brazil, Argentina, the Dominican Republic, Spain and Portugal.  Most importantly, each of these artists or their families have experienced the distinction of being an immigrant, a refugee, a migrant, an expatriate, or a nomad, who gratefully found a “new” home or residence in the United States often fraught with struggle, risk, peril, hardship and opportunities.
The Wilmer Jennings Gallery at Kenkeleba presented the Inaugural Exhibition for the “We Are You International Project”, with over 400 people attending the opening on March 18, 2012. It continued its tour through various sites on the East Coast. “We Are You International Project” now makes its way to the West Coast at Joyce Gordon Gallery in Oakland, California; its first exhibition outside of the New York/New Jersey hub where it originated.  Hereafter, the “We Are You” continues on its international tour, including an event-filled exhibition at the United Nations this fall.
About We Are You International
The We Are You Project International exists to inform, enlighten, stimulate, and educate the public on the many facets and realities of Latino identity as it emerged over the past four centuries and continues to evolve in the 21st Century.  Through activities identified in the mission statement within the below URL, the goal of WAY is to become a premiere not-for-profit organization that people turn to for the most progressive and stimulating thinking on Ibero-American culture, art, and life. For more information please visit www.weareyouproject.org

Joyce Gordon Gallery is a commercial fine art gallery located in the downtown district of Oakland California. It exhibits art that reflects the social and cultural diversity of the Bay Area and international artists. The aim of the gallery is to respect the creative pursuits of the individual and seeks to make such work accessible to a broad audience.