We have been delighted and inspired to hear of the energy and talent you are devoting to making the world a better place. You chose to turn your personal experience with the violence, corruption, and abuses from the drug trade in your hometown of Ciudad Juarez into a personal human rights campaign.
You are committed to traditional human rights activity, including protests against violence in Juarez and organizational work to combat poverty among immigrants fleeing to El Paso. But as a multi-dimensional artist working in dance, music, 4316 Upton Ave. South, Suite 204, Minneapolis, MN 55410 • 612.275.4032 photography, digital art, film and installational art, you have chosen to pursue human rights with these especially powerful tools. We completely agree with your explanation that, “Art provides a platform for exploring issues through an intellectual perspective and provides visual conceptualizations of the world that are hard to achieve through other disciplines.” We have heard about your successful short films on migration using a dancer and about living in Gaza, your gripping photographs about torture, and your support of the Immigration History Research Center’s Digital Stories Project.
We especially respect your willingness to enhance your effectiveness in promoting human rights by enthusiastically supplementing your arts education with the social sciences courses in the Global Studies Department. And we have been delighted to hear that your career plans include creating films that highlight human rights violations and other global issues, especially in Latin America.
You are radiating and sharing the same energy that Sullivan Ballou expressed when sacrificing his life, wholeheartedly pursuing the path to which your heart has called you. It is an honor for us to be able to recognize you in this small way. We will look forward to hearing how your career unfolds
Congratulations!
Elissa and Bruce Peterson, Founding Members