Arrivals/Departures – East80West, curated by Bay Area artist/curator Cece Carpio and Gallery Bergen Director Tim Blunk. Seven contemporary artists from both the West and East Coasts – connected by US Interstate Route 80 – examine the bicoastal realities of new immigrants to the United States.
This exhibition is inspired by Bergen Community College’s ongoing Campus Read of A Map Is Only One Story: Twenty Writers on Immigration, Family, and the Meaning of Home, edited by Nicole Chung and Mensah Demary. It is also part of a larger humanities project at BCC called East80West that examines Bergen County residents’ histories, experiences, and stories of immigration. The project, led by Dr. Christine Eubank and Dr. Leigh Jonaitis are collecting oral histories from students and other Bergen County residents which will be used to create an original verbatim theater performance in the fall of 2024.Focusing on the theme of arrival and departure, migration and immigration, the projects add depth and breadth to Bergen County’s rich history while also mapping cultural throughways that connect the region, the world, and everyone in it.
The exhibition takes its name from US Interstate Route 80 – a slender strip of asphalt that joins Oakland, California with the George Washington Bridge in Bergen County, thereby connecting two coasts of this vast country and two experiences of those who continue to arrive here in search of a new life. The contributors from each coast are award-winning contemporary artists whose works have been commissioned by prominent museums, the Port Authority, and published in major publications.
Exhibiting artists:
