Art + Constitution Day

I believe that art has a unique role in our world to create meaningful dialogue. By engaging in seeing and learning about art we are reminded that as humans we share more commonalities than we do differences. I felt it appropriate, therefore, on the week in which Americans will celebrate their citizenship and the adoption of the United States' most important document, to share a body of work by my colleague, friend and fellow Graduate Student at Florida Atlantic University, Ingrid Barreneche.

This Thursday, September 17th, the United States will celebrate Constitution Day. Constitution Day commemorates the formation and signing of the most important document in the United States, the Constitution (!!!) by thirty-nine men on September 17th, 1787. It is also alternatively recognized as Citizenship Day (its former name, prior to 2004, when a bill was passed to rename the day and mandate educational programming about the Constitution) which aims to “recognize all who, by coming of age or by naturalization, have become citizens.”

American Backyard is a body of work created by Ingrid Barreneche which was a response to her naturalization process and as a result, her love affair with American history, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Colombian by birth, Ingrid was compelled as an immigrant to remind others how important these documents were and not to take them for granted.

FAU Graduate Student, Ingrid Barreneche, at the first public installation and performance of "We the people" at Miami-Dade College in 2010. Ingrid began this project in 2010 and it expanded to other important venues until 2012.