Original Base Button Design by Kimberly Coombs
STATUS is a participatory artwork exploring the concept of citizenship in the United States, specifically the different types of citizenship status labels that Immigrants in the U.S. live with, defining their lives and effecting all their daily interactions in society. The title "Status" reflects several layers of experience, social and legal. The dictionary defines status as:
1: position or rank in relation to others. Example = the status of a father
2: relative rank in a hierarchy of prestige, especially high prestige.
3: the condition of a person or thing in the eyes of the law.
4: state or condition with respect to circumstances. Example = the status of the
negotiations
Each of these definitions relate how an immigrant is viewed by their family, by different communities, by society, and by the law. Immigrants are viewed by many in our society as the lowest rung in the social hierarchy. In the eyes of the law, the immigrant's status is clear-cut, either legal or illegal.
This artwork asks the gallery visitors to randomly choose and adopt a status for the duration of their gallery visit, by choosing an envelope and wearing the included button, which advertises their status to the other gallery visitors. In this piece, the participants become the interactive art event, being labeled with an identity status that stigmatizes.
It is my hope and goal that this small action, coupled with the information in the selected STATUS envelope and here on the web page, will provide the participant with an opportunity to put themselves in another person's shoes, and think about the process one goes through to achieve (or not achieve) such a status. A secondary goal of this art action is to counteract the rampant misinformation and ignorance present in today's society surrounding immigration and immigrants present in the U.S.
STATUS Terms Used in this Art Action:
Information in each letter is quoted from the guidelines on the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services website, which is run by the Department of Homeland Security. https://www.uscis.gov/tools/how-do-i-guides
The Statistics for Immigrant populations in the U.S. come from the 2019 Pew Research Center report on the data from 2017, the most recent collated data. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/06/17/key-findings-about-u-s-immigrants/
Information on Refugees and the process to achieve that status can be found at: https://www.dhs.gov/immigration-statistics/refugees-asylees https://www.dhs.gov/immigration-statistics/yearbook/2017/table13
https://www.uscis.gov/humanitarian/refugees-asylum
https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/07/05/for-the-first-time-u-s-resettles-fewer-refugees-than-the-rest-of-the-world/
Refugees resettled in 2017: In FY 2017 53,716 refugees were resettled in the United States. https://www.wrapsnet.org/archives
Refugees resettled in 2018: In FY 2018 (October 1, 2017 to September 30, 2018), a total of 22,491 refugees were resettled in the United States, under a refugee ceiling of 45,000. https://cis.org/Rush/Refugee-Resettlement-Admissions-FY 2018 https://www.wrapsnet.org/archives
Refugees admitted by region from 1975 through 2019: Excel file https://www.wrapsnet.org/s/Refugee-Admissions-Report-FY2019_06_30-7-5-19.xls
Website Link: https://www.wrapsnet.org/admissions-and-arrivals
Asylum Statistics: 2012-2016: In 2016 8,726 asylum applicants were granted asylum https://cis.org/sites/default/files/2018-03/Asylum_2012%2B2016.pdf
Department of Homeland Security 2017 Yearbook of Immigration Statistics: https://www.dhs.gov/immigration-statistics/yearbook/2017?collection=immigration-data-and-statistics
Center for Immigration Studies - Immigration Data Portal: https://cis.org/Immigration-Statistics-Data-Portal
1: position or rank in relation to others. Example = the status of a father
2: relative rank in a hierarchy of prestige, especially high prestige.
3: the condition of a person or thing in the eyes of the law.
4: state or condition with respect to circumstances. Example = the status of the
negotiations
Each of these definitions relate how an immigrant is viewed by their family, by different communities, by society, and by the law. Immigrants are viewed by many in our society as the lowest rung in the social hierarchy. In the eyes of the law, the immigrant's status is clear-cut, either legal or illegal.
This artwork asks the gallery visitors to randomly choose and adopt a status for the duration of their gallery visit, by choosing an envelope and wearing the included button, which advertises their status to the other gallery visitors. In this piece, the participants become the interactive art event, being labeled with an identity status that stigmatizes.
It is my hope and goal that this small action, coupled with the information in the selected STATUS envelope and here on the web page, will provide the participant with an opportunity to put themselves in another person's shoes, and think about the process one goes through to achieve (or not achieve) such a status. A secondary goal of this art action is to counteract the rampant misinformation and ignorance present in today's society surrounding immigration and immigrants present in the U.S.
STATUS Terms Used in this Art Action:
- Approved: Naturalized legal citizens w/ all rights and responsibilities
- Legal: Permanent Legal residents but not a Legal Citizen
- Temporary: Nonimmigrant; Legal temporary residents: student, worker, diplomat, dependents...
- Illegal: Individuals in this country without documents to be here legally
- Deported: Illegal residents who have been deported to country of origin or other appropriate country
- Refugee: A person outside their country of nationality who is unable/unwilling to return to their country because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution based on the person's race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.
- Asylum: An Asylee is a foreign national in the United States or a port of entry who is unable or unwilling to return to his or her country of nationality, or to seek the protection because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution. Persecution or the fear thereof must be based on religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.
Information in each letter is quoted from the guidelines on the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services website, which is run by the Department of Homeland Security. https://www.uscis.gov/tools/how-do-i-guides
The Statistics for Immigrant populations in the U.S. come from the 2019 Pew Research Center report on the data from 2017, the most recent collated data. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/06/17/key-findings-about-u-s-immigrants/
Information on Refugees and the process to achieve that status can be found at: https://www.dhs.gov/immigration-statistics/refugees-asylees https://www.dhs.gov/immigration-statistics/yearbook/2017/table13
https://www.uscis.gov/humanitarian/refugees-asylum
https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/07/05/for-the-first-time-u-s-resettles-fewer-refugees-than-the-rest-of-the-world/
Refugees resettled in 2017: In FY 2017 53,716 refugees were resettled in the United States. https://www.wrapsnet.org/archives
Refugees resettled in 2018: In FY 2018 (October 1, 2017 to September 30, 2018), a total of 22,491 refugees were resettled in the United States, under a refugee ceiling of 45,000. https://cis.org/Rush/Refugee-Resettlement-Admissions-FY 2018 https://www.wrapsnet.org/archives
Refugees admitted by region from 1975 through 2019: Excel file https://www.wrapsnet.org/s/Refugee-Admissions-Report-FY2019_06_30-7-5-19.xls
Website Link: https://www.wrapsnet.org/admissions-and-arrivals
Asylum Statistics: 2012-2016: In 2016 8,726 asylum applicants were granted asylum https://cis.org/sites/default/files/2018-03/Asylum_2012%2B2016.pdf
Department of Homeland Security 2017 Yearbook of Immigration Statistics: https://www.dhs.gov/immigration-statistics/yearbook/2017?collection=immigration-data-and-statistics
Center for Immigration Studies - Immigration Data Portal: https://cis.org/Immigration-Statistics-Data-Portal
