March 31, 2010

Ni Una Mas(Not One More): The Juarez Murders was a powerful Drexel University-wide collaboration of academic, student and institutional departments intended to raise awareness about gender violence and, in particular, crimes against women in the Mexican bordertown of Juarez.  The two-month long event began May 15th, w anchored by an exhibition featuring over 20 international artists and 70 pieces of work. In addition there was a music concert, film screenings, lectures by experts and artists and rallies to raise awareness of these egregious crimes happening on the United States-Mexican border.

More than 700 women, many poor factory workers, some as young as twelve years old, have been abducted and brutally killed since 1993. Disturbingly none of these crimes have been solved. In Ni Una Mas, artists bear witness to the many faces of this tragedy to give a voice to its dark social, political and psychological roots.

The exhibition was at the new site of The Leonard Pearlstein Gallery, 3401 Filbert Street and included works or participation by Yoko Ono, Kiki Smith, Nancy Spero, Miguel Calderon and Tim Rollins & KOS. To kickoff Ni Una Mas, a massive rally and demonstration took place on the afternoon of May 15th. Entitled ARTMARCH, the rally and march will involve hundreds of students and members of the community demonstrating to bring attention to the plight of the women of Juarez. 

Other events comprising Ni Una Mas were a concert performance by Intercultural Journeys, a musical ensemble comprised of Udi Bar David of the Philadelphia Orchestra and other noted musicians who bridge cultural divides through music; screenings of  the films Pray the Devil Back to Hell, a Tribeca film festival award-winner and Backyard, the harrowing story of  the disturbing deaths and disappearances of young women in Juarez starring Jimmy Smits; and lectures and seminars addressing these shocking unsolved crimes in the context of politics, history, and the social sciences.