Los Invisibles

Local students and visiting Mexican artist create Los Invisibles, A Day of the Dead installation commemorating the lives of people murdered by storms, mosquitoes, disease, hunger and plain old human indifference.

As politicians of both parties condemn greed on Wall Street and compete for votes on Main Street, no one is speaking for the millions of Americans with no mortgage to lose. One group of student artists wants to change that.

For the past six weeks, 6 middle and high school students together with Mexican fabric artist Edith Pons have put their talents and hearts to work creating Los Invisibles, a Day of the Dead gallery installation commemorates the lives of those who lived and died without a home to lose or a bed to sleep in. The exhibit, says 12 year-old student artist Karen Padilla, is designed to remind viewers that “poor people shouldn’t be ignored.”

This very day, more than 2,000 local school kids have no home; in Hiait, over 2,000 impoverished people have perished in the wake of Hurricanes Fay, Gustav, Hanna and Ike. Across the globe, a million people died last year from malaria – lives that could be saved for $10 each – the cost of a mosquito net, and in the next 24 hours 26,500 children across the globe will lose their lives to hunger and disease.

Working Classroom students and staff are inviting the commuity to celebrate Day of the Dead at Visiones Gallery, 212 Gold SW, on November 1 from 6:00-8:00 p.m. by sharing art, tradtional Mexican music by Lenore Armijo, Mexican desserts and drinks and contributing to Los Invisibles by bringing donations of non-perishable food, toiletries, backpacks, jackets and coats for kids and cash for the APS Homeless Student Project and Humanity for Haiti.

Tickets are $10/Adults; $6.00 for students & seniors and are available for purchase at the door. The exhibit continues through November 21, 2008. Visiones Gallery is open Monday-Friday from 9:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. and by appointment.

This exhibit is made possible by generous support from The Fund, Albuquerque Community Foundation; City of Albuquerque, Department Family & Community Services; County of Bernalillo; Surdna Foundation; McCune Foundation