Canvas of hope

May 1st, 2021 at 1pm MDT

Rio Grande Borderland Ministries (RGBM) is a ministry of the Episcopal Diocese of the Rio Grande that provides humanitarian support to vulnerable people in our border communities. We help to ensure that our migrant neighbors are welcomed with dignity. As global pandemic surges and changes to immigration and policy enforcement continue, the need for relief and advocacy for people at the border increases.

In order to spread awareness and build our network of supporters, Rio Grande Borderland Ministries is hosting an online community art fundraiser titled Canvas of Hope. The event will feature artists passionate about migration, including musical performances, poetry readings, artist talks, and a live virtual art auction. 

Please join us for Canvas of Hope on Saturday, May 1, from 1:00 PM MDT to 2:30 PM MDT on Zoom or on Facebook Live!

The Canvas of Hope Art Auction goes live on Saturday, April 24, and will close at midnight on May 1 after the event! Access our auction platform here.

Questions? Reach out to Nellie Fagan, RGBM Project Coordinator, at admin@riograndeborderland.org.

Canvas of Hope speakers and performers

Jade Leyva, artist & keynote speaker

Biography: Magical Realism Artist Jade Leyva is from Mexico City and she now calls New Mexico her home. Her works express her love for nature and her positive hope for the future of the world. She was Santa Fe’s 2018 Contemporary Hispanic Market Poster Artist and was also awarded Best of Show in the Oil/Acrylic Painting Category in 2017 and 2019. She has created images for several important events and her work has been featured in books and on publication covers. She has participated in countless exhibitions at the local, national and international level, resulting in people from across the globe collecting her work.

In 2013 she founded an organization called “Seeds: A Collective Voice” which promotes raising awareness by educating communities about different environmental subjects, problems and solutions, through multimedia arts and creating murals with seeds in a collective setting.

Jade is currently represented by Adelante Gallery in Scottsdale, Arizona and you can also find her work on all the social media platforms as Jade Leyva Art and on her website jadeleyvaart.com.

Ana l. Reza, bridge chaplain, episcopal diocese of the Rio grande

Ana Reza serves as Bridge Chaplain for the Episcopal Diocese of the Rio Grande. She works directly with volunteers and the communities that Rio Grande Borderland Ministries serves, maintaining regular connections with our sister shelters in Juarez and other partners. Ana’s role has been unique over the last year given the COVID-19 pandemic. To learn more about how Ana has worked to bridge community across borders (even virtual borders!), join us for the Canvas of Hope event to hear her reflection.

“Building relationships with asylum seekers gives me a glimpse of our call as people of faith. The people we encounter in Espiritu Santo shelter embody Christ and sometimes that is what keeps them going, the hope that God is love and protects them. In that spirit I want to be able to love and show compassion to my sisters and brothers who seek asylum and unjustly are not permitted to.” - Ana Reza

Pamela Warren Williams, Poet

My name is Pamela Warren Williams. I’m a poet and writer living in Silver City, New Mexico near the Mexican border. The closer you get to that border, the more is revealed to you about its realities. I went to Juárez for the first time last October, right after the loss of my husband, believing in the catharsis of service, and I was utterly gobsmacked by all that I learned. I feel that I can be of the most help to this crisis by publicizing the truths of the border to all of those in this country who have little or no idea what is happening. My poem Magnitude was my first response.

with musical performances by…

CANVAS OF HOPE GALLERY

Click “Read more” to learn more about the art and the artist, and to place your bids starting on April 24th!