How it started…part 1

Persona Contemporary started as a humble attempt to do something in desperate times.
2018 was a painful year of political turmoil… our previous POTUS created a hostile environment where anti-immigrant rhetoric became the norm with harsh zero-tolerance policies that stirred a wave of xenophobia throughout our nation. Our very own Tennessee leadership passed anti-immigrant laws such as HB 2315.

The Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition ( TIRRC ) states “On April 25th, the Tennessee General Assembly passed HB2315, one of the country's most extreme, anti-immigrant bills, banning so-called "sanctuary cities." HB2315 would require police to inquire about immigration and citizenship status, prohibit common-sense local policies that promote community trust and public safety and take away discretion from local law enforcement, turning requests from ICE into unconditional directives.”

What does this mean?

Well, imagine kissing your family goodbye in the morning, driving to work, being stopped by a police officer for a taillight being out, and quite possibly not seeing your family again because this officer now has authority to act as a deportation agent for ICE.

How would you feel? This “American Dream” begins to turn sour at the thought of sacrificing hugging the ones you love.

Lead artist and visionary, Andrés Bustamante decided to take action through art activism.
and Persona Contemporary evolved in response to the painful actions of an oppressive government…

…..to be continued