Entering the Art on Paper 2024 New York fair is an experience in itself. Housed on a pier on the East River on the city’s lower East Side, the space is massive—housing 100 foreign and domestic galleries within a 70,000-square-foot network of booths under high ceilings of exposed steel beams. Once inside, you are overwhelmed with glorious art brimming with talent and imagination. Each booth is like a world of its own displaying the artist’s unique vision. Some of the paintings are large, bright, and colorful while others are smaller, detailed studies. The atmosphere is celebratory and joyful—a space full of artists proudly showing and discussing their work and viewers appreciating the artists’ creativity and talent. About 20,000 people visit the fair each year.
The KIND Client Traveling Art Exhibit was invited to be part of this year’s Art on Paper as a cultural partner and beautifully showcased our clients’ skills and stories. The exhibit offered its own unique sensibility and included a variety of styles, stories, and viewpoints that reflect the unique experiences of our clients, their talents, and their humanity. Artwork by clients from Afghanistan, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guinea, and Honduras, among other countries, depict children’s diverse migration journeys, cultural identity, and the range of emotions their experiences evoke in them: fear, despair, and loneliness juxtaposed with positivity, togetherness, and hope.
KIND Client Artists
When a New York City-based client from Honduras, Yon, whose art is among the pieces in the exhibit, visited the booth and saw his art displayed he said:
When I walked around the Art on Paper Fair, I thought about everything I’m capable of and the heights I’m able to reach if I put my mind to it. In leaving the fair and walking back home, I thought about everything I’d do next, and felt very inspired to make more drawings again. And not just with art, but also other things beyond that.
Visitors to the booth asked Yon questions about his piece and listened closely as he explained the experiences and emotions his work represents and how he grapples with his identity as a young person who came to the United States to seek safety. “I explained what each element of the painting represented and all that made it special,” he said. Yon’s story has a meaningful new chapter: he received his green card just before he visited the fair.
Another local KIND client artist, Filipe, visited the fair and said,
“The exhibit was beautiful, and all the pieces were lovely.”
Filipe has four artworks displayed in our exhibit.
Visitors Learn About Unaccompanied Children
Visitors to KIND’ s booth asked questions about KIND clients; most did not know that unaccompanied children are not provided lawyers in their defense against deportation. They expressed great surprise that the majority of these children appear in immigration court without an attorney. Many expressed a desire to support our work and took away information so they could learn more.
Seeing our clients’ art among hundreds of established and professional artists and witnessing Yon discuss his work with visitors reinforced for me that with the support our clients need and deserve, their possibilities are limitless.
We are grateful to Art on Paper New York for giving our clients an extraordinary opportunity to share their stories and hard-earned wisdom.
