Talks
Talk | Sanctuary In Chicago and Centro Sin Fronteras
Register for this virtual discussion on Zoom or watch it on Facebook Live. This virtual event is free or pay-what-you-can. Our suggested price of $15 enables the MCA to directly support the work of living artists.
Regístrese para esta discusión virtual en Zoom o mírela en Facebook Live.

Activist Elvira Arellano and Centro Sin Fronteras’s founder and president Emma Lozano join Borderless Magazine cofounder Michelle Kanaar and Chicago-based artist Jonathan Michael Castillo for a discussion around sanctuary in Chicago, Centro Sin Fronteras’s legacy, and their ongoing activism, in tandem with the exhibition Andrea Bowers currently on view at the MCA.
This talk is presented online in English with Spanish translation.
En conjunto con la exposición Andrea Bowers, el museo MCA presenta la discusion Sancturaio en Chicago y Centro Sin Fronteras.
Para esta discusión, las activistas Elvira Arellano y Emma Lozano se unen con la cofundadora de la revista Borderless, Michelle Kanaar, y al artista basado en Chicago, Jonathan Michael Castillo, para una discusión sobre el santuario en Chicago, el legado de Centro Sin Fronteras y su activismo continuo.
Esta charla se podrá escuchar en inglés con traducción al español.
About the Speakers
Emma Lozano is a community grassroots activist and pastor at United Lincoln Methodist Church in Pilsen, Chicago. In 1987 she founded the grassroots organization Centro Sin Fronteras for undocumented families, first addressing the overcrowding of a local elementary school. The organization has since worked to address issues of bilingual education, lead poisoning, housing, police brutality, library services, youth employment, and gentrification. Centro has also addressed US policies in Central America and supported social justice movements in Mexico. Along with Reverend Walter Coleman, they are visionaries of the new sanctuary movement.
Jonathan Michael Castillo is a visual artist, photographer, and educator based in Chicago. He is the 2019–21 recipient of the Diane Dammeyer Fellowship in Photographic Arts and Social Issues. Castillo was included in the 2021 Hyde Park Art Center’s Ground Floor Biennial in Chicago and was a finalist for the WMA Commission in Hong Kong. His work has been featured in The New Yorker, Wired, CBS: Los Angeles, and Brazil’s G1 Globo. He has appeared on the radio to discuss his photography on the BBC’s “World Update” and on local Los Angeles public radio programs KPCC and KCRW. Castillo is represented by Samuel Maenhoudt Gallery in Belgium. His education includes a BFA from California State University Long Beach and an MFA from Columbia College Chicago.
Borderless Magazine is a member-supported nonprofit newsroom covering immigrants and communities of color. Borderless works to dismantle racist and harmful coverage of immigrants and reimagines immigration journalism for a more just and equitable future.
Jonathan Michael Castillo es un artista visual, fotógrafo y educador que vive en Chicago. Fue otorgado la beca Diane Dammeyer en Artes Fotográficas y Temas Sociales en 2019–2021. Jonathan fue incluido en la Bienal del Hyde Park Art Center 2021 en Chicago y fue finalista de la Comisión WMA en Hong Kong. Su trabajo ha aparecido en The New Yorker, Wired, CBS: Los Ángeles y G1 Globo de Brasil. Ha aparecido en la radio para hablar sobre su fotografía en “World Update” de la BBC y en los programas locales de radio pública de Los Ángeles KPCC y KCRW. Jonathan está representado por la Galería Samuel Maenhoudt en Bélgica. Su educación incluye un BFA de California State University Long Beach y un MFA de Columbia College Chicago.
Borderless Magazine es una centro de media sin fines de lucro apoyada por miembros. La organizacion cubre temas relacionados a inmigracion y comunidades de color. Borderless trabaja para desmantelar la cobertura racista y dañina de los inmigrantes y reinventa el periodismo de inmigración para un futuro más justo y equitativo.
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Video
Talk: Sanctuary In Chicago and Centro Sin Fronteras
In tandem with the exhibition Andrea Bowers, the MCA presents a discussion about sanctuary in Chicago.
Event Partner
Established in 1986, Centro Sin Fronteras is a Chicago-based grassroots activist organization that champions the rights of workers and laborers. Led by Pastor Emma Lozano, the organization works with community members to bring attention to workers’ rights.
Within the Andrea Bowers exhibition, Centro Sin Fronteras is presenting objects selected from their archive and a history of their work. Additionally, Elvira Arellano and the organization’s community organizing work was the focus of Bowers’s film Sanctuary.
Establecido en 1986, Centro Sin Fronteras es una organización activista basada en Chicago que defiende los derechos de los trabajadores y trabajadoras. Dirigida por la pastora Emma Lozano, la organización trabaja con miembros de la comunidad para llamar la atención sobre los derechos de los trabajadores.
Dentro de la exposición Andrea Bowers, Centro Sin Fronteras presenta selecciones de objetos de sus archivos para narrar sus orígenes e historia. Junto con Elvira Arellano, su activismo comunitario es el tema central del cortometraje Sanctuary producido por Bowers.
Funding
Lead support for the 2021–22 season of MCA Talks is made possible by The Richard and Mary L. Gray Lecture Series through a generous gift to the Chicago Contemporary Campaign.
Generous support is provided by The Antje B. And John J. Jelinek Endowed Lecture and Simposium on Contemporary Art; the Kristina Barr Lectures, which were established through a generous gift by The Barr Fund to the Chicago Contemporary Campaign; The Gloria Brackstone Solow and Eugene A. Solow, MD, Memorial Lecture Series; and the Allen M. Turner Tribute Fund, honoring his past leadership as Chair of the Board of Trustees.




