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In the Fields of the North / En los campos del norte

  • Description
  • Specs
  • Schedule

Description

Stories and photographs of migrant farm workers give visitors a reality check on the food they eat and the people who harvest it.

Mom and Child
Mom and Child
Dancers
“Many Oaxacan you see themselves as American and not Oaxacan. It’s important for us not only to learn English, but also to know our history and remember our ancestors.” – Rafael Flores / “Muchos jóvenes de Oaxaca se ven a sí mismos como americanos y no como oaxaqueños. Por eso para nosotros es importante no sólo aprender inglés, sino también conocer nuestra historia y recordar a nuestros antepasados.” – Rafael Flores.
Maria Antonietta Gonzalez
Maria Antonietta Gonzalez

Traveling with migrant workers as the fruit and harvest season moves from the Mexican border north to Washington state, In the Fields of the North / En los campos del norte reveals the stories of contemporary migrant farm workers on the West Coast. The exhibition attempts to shed light on some basic questions: How much do we know about the lives of the people who feed us? Where do they live? How does it feel to do some of the hardest repetitive labor imaginable? And, what answers do farm workers themselves have to end their poverty and endless migration?

Manuel Garcia, a farm worker from Esteli, Nicaragua, shows the juice from trimming tobacco plants on his hands and arms / Manuel García, un trabajado agrícola de Estelí, Nicaragua, muestra sus manos y brazos manchadas de jugo por recortar las plantas de tabaco.
Manuel Garcia, a farm worker from Esteli, Nicaragua, shows the juice from trimming tobacco plants on his hands and arms / Manuel García, un trabajado agrícola de Estelí, Nicaragua, muestra sus manos y brazos manchadas de jugo por recortar las plantas de tabaco.

In the Fields of the North is a series of evocative photographs accompanied by moving oral narratives – fully translated into both English and Spanish – that take visitors into the contemporary world of migrant farm workers. Photographer and journalist David Bacon has spent over three decades documenting the lives of migrant workers and organizing with United Farm Workers, and this documentation has been used by FIOB and CRLA to advocate for the rights of migrants and farm workers. His book of the same name was released by UC Press in May of 2017.

In the Fields of the North / En los campos del norte features the works of David Bacon, is produced in partnership with the California Rural Legal Assistance and the Binational Front of Indigenous Organizations, and is traveled by Exhibit Envoy.

Specs

Audience:
General
Rental Fee:
RETIRED
Size:
200-250 linear feet
Languages:
English, Spanish
Security:
Limited
Installation Images:
View Here

Exhibit Components:

  • (56) 30″ x 24″ black and white photographs and accompanying detailed narrative captions in both English and Spanish
  • (6) interpretive text panels in both English and Spanish
  • United Farm Workers video from the 1970s in Spanish, with subtitles in English
  • Gallery copy of UC Press’ In the Fields of the North / En los campos del norte
  • Exhibition press kit with digital images
  • Suggested programming ideas

Schedule and Availability

Past Dates

September 1, 2017 – September 30, 2017
University of Nebraska, Omaha, NE
October 15, 2017 – June 30, 2018 (8 months)
History San Jose, San Jose, CA
August 5, 2018 – October 28, 2018 (12 weeks)
Museum on Main, Pleasanton, CA
January 13, 2019 – March 10, 2019
Vallejo Naval and Historical Museum, Vallejo, CA
June 16, 2019 – August 18, 2019
Museum of Ventura County Agricultural Museum, Santa Paula, CA
September 1, 2019 – December 22, 2019 (16 weeks)
Hi-Desert Nature Museum, Yucca Valley, CA
January 5, 2020 – March 1, 2020
Sutter County Museum, Yuba City, CA
March 15, 2020 – July 19, 2020 (extended due to COVID-19)
Los Altos History Museum, Los Altos, CA
March 21, 2021 – May 23, 2021 (9 weeks)
Carnegie Arts Center, Turlock, CA
October 24, 2021 – December 19, 2021
Kansas City, KS Public Library, Kansas City, KS
January 23, 2022 – April 10, 2022
San Joaquin County Historical Museum, Lodi, CA
June 12, 2022 – August 28, 2022
Chandler Museum, Chandler, AZ
January 8, 2023 – April 16, 2023 (14 weeks)
La Quinta Museum, La Quinta, CA
October 8, 2023 – December 3, 2023
Global Museum, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA

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