Live Arts Bard
HT94 Installation Participation Call
November 20, 2019
Live Arts Bard
November 20, 2019
We invite you to play a crucial role in Hostile Terrain 94 (HT94), a participatory political art installation which will open November 21–24 during Where No Wall Remains, a four-day festival on borders and migration.
The installation features 3,117 handwritten toe tags, each representing someone who lost their life crossing the Arizona/Mexico border. Join us at any time between 4-8 pm to contribute to the completion of the toe tags, which will then be placed on the 20-foot-long map of the border installed on the Weis Atrium wall at the Fisher Center.
Hostile Terrain 94 (HT94) is a prototype of a participatory political art installation organized by the Undocumented Migration Project that will launch in the fall of 2020 in 150 locations around the globe simultaneously. A 20-foot-long map of the Arizona/Mexico border is populated with 3,117 handwritten toe tags that contain information about those who have died while migrating including name (if known), age, sex, cause of death, condition of body, and location. Some tags contain QR and Augmented-Reality codes that link to content related to migrant stories and visuals connected to immigration that can be accessed via cellphone. HT94 is intended to memorialize and bear witness to the thousands who have died as a result of Prevention Through Deterrence.
The most crucial (and interactive) aspect of the installation are the audience members committing their time and energy to meticulously fill out the death details for all 3,117 toe tags and then being assisted in placing these tags in the exact locations on the map where those individuals were found. See more on the exhibition here.
“My idea is not to change people’s minds. It’s just to give them more information about this topic so they can make an informed decision and how to feel about it.” —Jason De León disussing the installation at Cypress College, CA