︎

Workshops


Imaginary Lines begins with real-life storytelling about experiences that are simultaneously singular (the individual journey) and universal (the fears and hopes that drive migration). At a historical and political moment where immigration narratives are driven by political demagoguery and mainstream media’s reductive immigration reporting. Our hope is to use image-making technology to immerse viewers in essentially human stories that would otherwise remain unheard.

The storytelling process arises from a collaboration with immigrant community members (Baltimore, 2020 & Philadelphia, 2020-2024), shared through interview sessions and conversations that took place during a series of writing workshops. These writings are brought together, creating a new tale, a people’s journey through migration. This narrative is showcased within the film, animated across the border wall while a synced monologue narrates in Spanish with English subtitles.


In addition to the story telling workshops the collective hosted art making workshops in response to a selection of the stories.  The artworks are showcased in this website and will be included in the final film. 

The Film


Fragments of border crossing stories, collected from immigrant communities are woven together into an endless journey. Masses of monarch butterflies flutter across a Southestern U.S. landscape as their migratory sanctuary is threatened by destruction.

This work uses the motif of the butterfly’s migration between the United States and Mexico. Initial film tests of Monarch butterflies took place at the National Butterfly Center in Mission, TX––a stop on the annual migration of millions of Monarch butterflies between the U.S. and Mexico. In 2017, The National Butterfly Center was designated for demolition by the Trump administration to make way for the US-Mexico border wall.

Animated imagery of the monarch butterfly migration will be shown along with accounts from immigrants, recalling their individual journeys across the border. These first-hand border-crossing accounts, were assembled from a series of community writing workshops beginning in Baltimore and Philadelphia in 2020, with continued workshops taking place in partnership with the Phildelphia Folklore Project in 2022-2024.

Public film screenings will be announced in 2024.

ARTISTS         SHARE YOUR STORY          SUPPORT            CONTACT