This is Crowdsourcing Mornings! This post takes place every weekday morning and highlights one crowdsourcing project I liked from Kickstarter, Indiegogo, or other crowdsourcing websites.
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NO I.C.E. is a public art project by STOP 1 that utilizes the bodega ice vending machine as a platform for immigration rights awareness. We are working together with the Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts (MoCADA) to bring an important new art exhibition to the streets of NYC from November 2021 to March 2022.
The NO I.C.E. project originally began as a multimedia concept in 2019 at the height of the former administration’s reckless immigration policies and rhetoric. We were appalled by the hatred unleashed upon our communities at the hands of Immigration Customs Enforcement (I.C.E.), so we decided to adapt the iconic bodega ice vending machine as a way to spark conversations around these issues and to highlight the positive contributions immigrants make towards our country.
Current U.S. migrant / immigration detention policies have eroded the principles of tolerance and inclusivity that underpin our social fabric and our common humanity. Emboldened by policy and rhetoric, xenophobic nationalist groups across the country have simultaneously created a sense of fear among immigrant communities and people of color. ‘NO I.C.E.’ challenges these ideologies through nuanced art expression and encourages viewers to recognize the disparities between their personal identities and those of immigrants across the country. With your support, we can amplify and deepen the discourse around immigration reform while building resilience among our immigrant communities.
In the midst of a catastrophic pandemic, the Biden administration continues to target and criminalize immigrants / migrants of color and seek their deportation through aggressive immigration enforcement. American companies continue to exploit immigrant workers and subject them to unsafe working conditions. Our project responds to these issues by holding space at the community level to initiate meaningful dialogue and to bolster immigrant solidarity through programming and funding.
Your support will go towards fabricating a full size sculpture at the MoCADA sculpture gallery, utilizing the iconic bodega ICE box structure. Our workshop will source, modify, and adapt an ice box merchandiser, tweaking the hardware and graphics to create a dynamic interactive sculpture. We will be pairing this with custom digital elements that will augment the experience, a series of window art displays along the streetside exhibition space, and museum curated programming.
In conjunction with Make the Road, a national non-profit organization, a portion of your donation will also go towards vital immigration services offered by their New York chapter:
- Legal representation in immigration, housing, and worker exploitation cases
- Helping undocumented people gain US citizenship
- Immigrant rights training
- Literacy programs / ESL training
As of October 4th, this project has raised $6,400 of their $20,000 goal. This project has 17 days left to raise as much as it can. For a pledge of $5, you will get one mixtape. For a pledge of $30, you will get one enamel pin and sticker. To learn more and to pledge money, go to: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/stop1/the-no-ice-box-by-stop-1?
