Art, Design & Architecture Museum at UCSB

Jackie Amézquita: Gemidos de la Tierra is now on view at the Art, Design & Architecture Museum at UC Santa Barbara (@ucsantabarbara)!

Central to the exhibition is the socially engaged work, Gemidos de la Tierra (Wailings of the Land/Soil) (2020–ongoin), where Jackie Amézquita (@jackieamezquita) casts in soil sourced throughout the United States the names of individuals who have lost their lives while in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody between 2003 and today.

For this exhibition, Amézquita will expand the artwork from twelve to fifteen panels, honoring those that have passed since 2023. The soil used to cast these names has been gathered through a national call for soil organized in partnership with Craft Contemporary (@craftcontemporary) in Los Angeles. The call is ongoing until October 25.

Community participation is central to the power of Gemidos de la Tierra. In 2023, it was presented as a two-day, mobile procession organized by LACE (@welcometolace) and LAND (@nomadicdivision) in Los Angeles. Save the date for a special activation at UCSB on Sunday, November 1.

Jackie Amézquita: Gemidos de la Tierra is on view through November 29, 2026. The exhibition is curated by Ana Briz (@anaextina), AD&A Museum Assistant Director and Curator of Exhibitions, and made possible thanks to the generous support of the AD&A Museum Council.

Installation photography by Yubo Dong, ofstudio (@ofphotostudio).