Mexican artist Dr. Derli Romero and U.S. literary scholar Dr. Kimberle López will describe the process through which Romero’s artwork humanizes migrants traveling through Mexico toward the United States. Combining oral history, photography, and printmaking, Romero transforms migrants’ clothing and testimonies into moving works of art that illuminate the experiences often obscured in mainstream representations of migration.
Day & Time： May 28th, 2026 (Thursday), 13:30-16:00 (opens at 13:10)
Venue： Lab (2nd floor of WIHL)
Language： English
Participation： Free
Participants： Open to general public (admission free, no registration necessary)
Program
13:10 Open
13:30 Opening remarks by Shigeko Mato, Associate Director of the International House of Literature
13:30-15:00 Presentation by Kimberle López and Derli Romero, followed by Q&A
15:00-15:20 Discussant: Megan Saltzman
15:20-16:00 More Q&A and conversation
In this presentation, Mexican artist Derli Romero and U.S. literary scholar Kimberle López will describe the process through which the interrelated art projects Rostros migrantes (2019) and Mujeres en tránsito (2025) emerged. These two projects humanize migrants traveling through Mexico toward the United States. Combining oral history, photography, and printmaking, Romero transforms migrants’ clothing and testimonies into moving works of art that illuminate the lived experiences often obscured in mainstream media representations of migration. Romero began by interviewing more than 100 migrants from Central America and South America passing through Mexico on their way north, recording their testimonies and photographing their profiles. He then exchanged their old clothes for new ones and made paper from the fabric. Using the photographs, he created profile silhouettes on the handmade paper and printed each migrant’s short narrative on them. While Rostro migrantes features face silhouettes, Mujeres en tránsito focuses specifically on women migrants, presenting full-body silhouettes and testimonies that reveal the specific forms of violence and vulnerability women experience during migration. The installation, displayed with suspended silhouettes and audio recordings, invites participants/viewers to perceive the realities of migration and encourages a more humanized understanding of migrants’ experiences.
