Invisible and Disposable. Temporary Foreign Farm Workers. Life and Rituals After Work
Invisibles y desechables (Invisibles and Disposables).
Temporary Foreign Farm Workers. Life and Rituals After Work
Invisible and Disposable. Temporary Foreign Farm Workers. Life and Rituals After Work is an art exhibition with the participation of Luz Rosas and Carlos Colín. Luz and Carlos are visual artists and volunteers within the Cultural/Artistic Commission at Dignidad Migrante Society.
Every year, hundreds of thousands of people from all over the world come to work in Canada in almost most sectors, specifically construction and farming. Without counting the large number of undocumented workers, according to the Canada Gazette, in 2019, 470,000 work permits were issued to Temporary Foreign Workers (TFW). From these work permits 98,000 were for farm workers. Unfortunately, these foreign workers don’t have the same rights and benefits like Canadian workers within the same sectors, and live under terrible housing and working conditions.
“Invisibles y desechables (Invisibles and Disposables). Temporary Foreign Workers’ life and rituals” is an interdisciplinary exhibition by Luz Rosas and Carlos Colín in partnership with Dignidad Migrante Society, that attempt to shed light to the life of the Temporary Foreign Workers (TFW), specifically in the farming sector from Mexico, Latin America, and the Caribbean, during their stay in British Columbia. The exhibition is looking to expand the visibility of the workers, while we find new possibilities to collaborate learning about their situations and supporting them in their cause. Invisibles y desechables seek to interact with the community in BC and Canada to show and share worker’s stories, using art as a comportment to expose and make visible such as important essential workers in our communities.
To raise awareness and visibility, the exhibition consists in a series of photographs and art installations. These art projects show the life and experiences of TFW, alongside with informative input that create a balance between visual and pedagogical elements. This artwork is part of the cultural and artistic commission from Dignidad Migrante Society, supporting workers with their needs and exposes their voices to the whole multicultural Canadian communities.
DIGNIDAD MIGRANTE SOCIETY known as “La Dignidad”, is a non-profit organization created by Temporary Foreign Workers (TFW) in BC founded in 2006 in the Okanagan Valley. “La Dignidad” was built by Indigenous, Black, and People of Color who voluntarily shape the society where our voices matter. We promote the organization of TFW in general, and agricultural workers in particular, to prevent abuse, exploitation, human and labour trafficking, advance right and benefits, guarantee our physical and mental health, and solve our daily problems, helping each other in the good and bad times through 36 free services available while workers are in Canada. To raise awareness in Canada about the contributions by, and working and living conditions of TFW “La Dignidad” has implemented several educational and artistic campaigns and events including Postcard campaign, Guacamole a cooking lesson for justice, Ride for Rights, and Day of the Dead.
