Sunday. September 10th from 12:30-2:00 pm, Saint Martin’s is hosting the opening reception for the Uncaged Art Exhibition in the church sanctuary at 5700 W. Midway Park, Chicago 60644.

The exhibition is comprised of beautiful artwork by youth, ages 13-17, held in the Tornillo, Texas Detention Center (a tent shelter for migrant children that closed following safety concerns). From its opening in June 2018 to its closing in January 2019, 6,200 children were held in tents in Tornillo, a small border town that came to symbolize the mass detention of migrant children.

A group of teachers visited the young people, inviting them to express their pride in their countries of origin through art. Over several months the teens produced 200 pieces of art. When the Tornillo detention center closed, officials began throwing out the artwork. A local Catholic priest recovered the artworks, and 29 pieces were curated by Dr. David Romo and Dr. Yolanda Chávez Leyva, directors of Museo Urbano, University of Texas at El Paso for the traveling exhibition.

The exhibit is sponsored by the Chicago Episcopal Diocese’s Sanctuary Task Force, Anti-racism Commission, Hispanic Affairs Committee, and Peace & Justice Committee. It has traveled through the Southwest and California and is now touring the Midwest at churches, non-profits, schools, and libraries. The goal is to share the experience of immigrant detention, particularly of children, through art. 

The exhibition is free and open to the public as part of the Episcopal Church’s efforts to replace immigrant detention and electronic monitoring with the use of community-based supportive services. Information will be provided at the exhibition on organizations that serve the migrant community in Chicago with the hope that visitors will donate to one of the vetted groups and help support them.

Additional dates and times for viewing the exhibit: Friday, September 15th, 2:00-4:00 pm, Saturday, September 16th, 4:00-6:30 pm, and Sunday. September 17th, 12:30-2:00 pm.

Additionally, Saint Martin’s Stewardship Committee is hosting a Bake Sale. Sweets will include apple pie, peach cobbler, and German chocolate cake.