Public Relations (week #13)

         Favianna Rodriguez is a print maker and digital artist from Oakland, California. She is known for her use of high-contrast colors and vivid figures. Most importantly, she is known for her art that,“reflects literal and imaginative migration, global community and interdependence”. She brings new audiences into the art world by refocusing the cultural lens”. Favianna Bio  This is not a post about just art; this is a post about how art from Favianna Rodriguez has become a publicity campaign for undocumented people.

        “Migration is Beautiful” the campaign that is pushing towards social change about immigration. Rodriguez explains in a Huffington Post Article, “The anti-immigrant movement has successfully been able to dominate the immigration debate by pushing out messages about migrants that are inhumane, racist, xenophobic and hateful. But those of us who fight for migrant rights are not only fighting back, we want to reframe the way migrants are viewed, artists especially. We want to expose the tragic losses that have resulted from unjust immigration laws, and we want to inspire and challenge people to re-imagine migration as something beautiful and natural -- something we all do.” Huffington Post

          This campaign can be considered Social Justice PR because it is a publicity campaign that advances the voices of advocates who are working toward a more equitable social policy. It has purpose driven communication, such as a particular design, like the butterfly, that accelerates social change. Alright, so you may be wondering how Favianna Rodriguez fits into this campaign, she is the creativity behind the movement. She has chosen to use a monarch butterfly to be the symbol for this campaign. She states, “The symbol of the monarch butterfly has been adopted by various migrant rights organizations, artists, and lovers of justice. It was not my idea, but an idea that’s been circulating for years -- throughout the country and in Latin America as well. I was drawn to the butterfly because of the transformative nature of this creature. The monarch butterfly represents the beauty of migration and the right that living beings have to freely move.” Huffington Post 

         "Migration is Beautiful" is meeting the needs of a marginalized community or group that is otherwise disenfranchised in the legal or political system. It focuses on the big picture and daily lives of the undocumented individuals, while looking at access to resources, power and privilege to help make a change. In the Huffington Post Article Rodriguez was asked if she anticipates a shift in immigration policy she replied, “Yes, this is definitely starting to shift. You can see this not just in the polls, but in the ways that people are understanding the complexities of just how bad our immigration is. This is thanks to the amazing work that has been done by organizers, artists, cultural workers and most importantly, undocumented youth and their families. The strategy of undocumented folks coming out was not just a brilliant political strategy, but an important cultural one as well.”  

If you are interested in learning more about the "Migration is Beautiful" movement, check out these videos from Favianna's documentary! 

     Part 1 

Part 2 

Part 3