LATEST HAPPENINGS
Hello everyone! In these very unprecedented times I am donating 50 percent of my sales through May 31 to Rural & Migrant Ministry (RMM) to support the migrant workers who come to town annually and help put food on our plates. The initiative to support these essential workers and fellow humans facing adversity moved Barbara's fellow Hudson Valley graphic designer and artist, Joseph Caserto, who has set up an online fundraising page.
Your tax-deductible donation to RMM will go toward the $11,200 purchase of the four paintings pictured above. Once the goal is reached, RMM will buy the paintings from Barbara, who will donate $5,600, half of the total, back to RMM.
If less than $11,200 is raised, works from the above options or other paintings will be purchased with the available funds, and Barbara will donate half of the purchase price to RMM.
“We would love to have one of her works adorn our walls," Executive Director Richard Witt said. "It would mean so much to us.” He’s interested in Stoopwork, Leon, Miss Sassy, and Desmond.
This fundraiser is a powerful way to counter the damaging narrative about our immigrant farmworkers. And, we're proud to point out that the arts are part of our Mission Statement:
We create hope, justice, and empowerment with farmworking and rural families in New York by building community and developing leaders through advocacy, education, and the arts.
"Hands That Feed Us" Project
Farming in the Hudson Valley has such a rich history. Migrant workers are part of this story.
Migrant workers toil in the Hudson Valley doing jobs most Americans won't, earning modest wages, sometimes risking deportation. Hard at work, they summon our attention and invite us to come closer, to see their labor and their humanity.
Who are they? Can you see them?
It’s possible for society to confer invisibility on a group. It’s convenient; if the group is invisible we relieve ourselves of concern about health care, working conditions, pesticides, housing, lack of ability to get their own food.
What is life like for them? What role do we play in keeping them unseen?
My work can expand our perceptions of these workers. If only by their images in my paintings, the viewer will come to see these persons for the vital role they have in our lives.
The "Hands That Feed Us" project Part One 2023 was made possible from a grant from Art Mid-Hudson and Two 2024 Reaching Out is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
Take a tour to view the banners celebrating these heroes!
Reproductions of my paintings have been installed on 11 structures and can be viewed on a scenic loop drive.
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July 2022 ~ Barbara won the ""Artivist" award from Arts Mid Hudson-Ulter County Executive Award
January 2022 ~ Barbara won the Beatrice & Sidney Laufman award for her drawings in the Woodstock Art Association & Museum's Focus "Art & Social Justice" show
"Leading with Artivism" is a live monthly interview series, created and curated by Poet Gold in collaboration with Arts Mid-Hudson, featuring a diverse mix of Artivists (Artist Activists) who have taken up the charge through their art to highlight social issues. We invite you to ask questions and get an inside look at the hearts and minds of these courageous creatives.