{"id":14526,"date":"2020-10-01T15:34:53","date_gmt":"2020-10-01T15:34:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/artjournalstg.wpenginepowered.com\/?p=14526"},"modified":"2021-07-06T16:59:41","modified_gmt":"2021-07-06T16:59:41","slug":"official-unofficial-voting-station-voting-for-all-who-legally-cant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/?p=14526","title":{"rendered":"Official Unofficial Voting Station: Voting for All Who Legally Can\u2019t"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div id=\"metaslider-id-14541\" style=\"max-width: 1000px; margin: 0 auto;\" class=\"ml-slider-3-19-1 ml-slider-pro-2-18-1 metaslider metaslider-flex metaslider-14541 ml-slider ml-slider-lightbox-1-11-3 lightbox-disabled ms-theme-architekt has-dots-nav\">\n    <div id=\"metaslider_container_14541\">\n        <div id=\"metaslider_14541\" class=\"flexslider\">\n            <ul aria-live=\"polite\" class=\"slides\">\n                <li style=\"display: block; width: 100%;\" class=\"slide-14542 ms-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"577\" height=\"573\" src=\"https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/LetUsVote.png\" class=\"slider-14541 slide-14542\" alt=\"Sticker that says &quot;Let Us Vote!&quot; with different-colored hands reaching for the words\" rel=\"\" title=\"\" style=\"margin: 0 auto; width: 75.5235602094%\" srcset=\"https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/LetUsVote.png 577w, https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/LetUsVote-500x497.png 500w, https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/LetUsVote-200x200.png 200w, https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/LetUsVote-560x556.png 560w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 577px) 100vw, 577px\" \/><div class=\"caption-wrap\"><div class=\"caption\">Cute Rage Press (Aram Han Sifuentes and Ishita Dharap), <i>Let Us Vote!<\/i>, 2020, sticker (image provided by Aram Han Sifuentes)<\/div><\/div><\/li>\n                <li style=\"display: none; width: 100%;\" class=\"slide-14543 ms-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1125\" height=\"1774\" src=\"https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Voting-for-All-Filter.jpg\" class=\"slider-14541 slide-14543\" alt=\"Photo of artist Aram Han Sifuentes, wearing bright blue eyeliner and a nose ring, using an Instagram filter that places a sticker reading &quot;Voting for All&quot; over her forehead\" rel=\"\" title=\"\" style=\"margin: 0 auto; width: 47.5620067644%\" srcset=\"https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Voting-for-All-Filter.jpg 1125w, https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Voting-for-All-Filter-317x500.jpg 317w, https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Voting-for-All-Filter-634x1000.jpg 634w, https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Voting-for-All-Filter-127x200.jpg 127w, https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Voting-for-All-Filter-974x1536.jpg 974w, https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Voting-for-All-Filter-720x1135.jpg 720w, https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Voting-for-All-Filter-560x883.jpg 560w, https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Voting-for-All-Filter-0x750.jpg 476w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1125px) 100vw, 1125px\" \/><div class=\"caption-wrap\"><div class=\"caption\">John Satrom, VotingStickersForALL Instagram filter, 2020, featuring sticker by Cute Rage Press (Aram Han Sifuentes and Ishita Dharap) (photograph by Aram Han Sifuentes)<\/div><\/div><\/li>\n            <\/ul>\n        <\/div>\n        \n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"background-color:#a6ce3a\" class=\"has-background has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\"><em><strong>VotingStickersForAL<\/strong><\/em><strong><em>L <\/em>Instagram Filter<\/strong><br><br>Open link on your mobile device:<br><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/ar\/783015609160230\/\"><strong>https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/ar\/783015609160230\/<\/strong><\/a><br><br>INSTRUCTIONS: Once you vote on <a href=\"http:\/\/officialunofficial.vote\/?event=AJO\">Officialunofficial.vote<\/a>, snap a selfie with the <em>VotingStickersForALL <\/em>Instagram filter<em>, <\/em>and use the hashtags<br><br><strong>#officialunofficialvotingstation   #votingforallwholegallycant   #letusvote<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 2016, according to the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.electproject.org\/\">United States Election Project<\/a>, 28.6 percent of Americans, or 92 million people, were disenfranchised and ineligible to vote in the presidential election.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <a href=\"http:\/\/officialunofficial.vote\/?event=AJO\"><em>Official Unofficial Voting Station<\/em><\/a> creates symbolic voting events, performances, and art installations for those whose votes are suppressed\u2014including youth under eighteen years old, noncitizens, the presently and formerly incarcerated (depending on state laws), residents of US territories, and those without government-issued identification (depending on state laws).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"812\" src=\"http:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Who-Cant-Vote-one-1000x812.jpg\" alt=\"Chart showing who can\u2019t legally vote in the United States - youth under 18, noncitizens, incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people, residents of US territories, and people without IDs (or 28.6 percent of the population)\" class=\"wp-image-14520\" srcset=\"https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Who-Cant-Vote-one-1000x812.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Who-Cant-Vote-one-500x406.jpg 500w, https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Who-Cant-Vote-one-200x162.jpg 200w, https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Who-Cant-Vote-one-1536x1248.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Who-Cant-Vote-one-2048x1664.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Who-Cant-Vote-one-720x585.jpg 720w, https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Who-Cant-Vote-one-560x455.jpg 560w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><figcaption>Cute Rage Press (Aram Han Sifuentes and Ishita Dharap), <i>Who Can\u2019t Vote in the U.S.?<\/i>, from <i>Voting Kit for the Disenfranchised<\/i>, 2020, digital graphic (photograph by Thaib A. Wahab)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I am an immigrant and have only recently become a naturalized citizen. In 2016, even though I had lived in the United States for more than twenty-four years, I was not able to vote. During these last few election cycles, so much that has been at stake has revolved around immigration policy. I wanted to exercise the right to vote and have a say in what would so greatly impact the safety of my family, friends, neighbors, and community. In response, I created the first iteration of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aramhansifuentes.com\/the-official-unofficial-voting-stat\"><em>Official Unofficial Voting Station: Voting for All Who Legally Can<\/em>\u2019<em>t<\/em><\/a> in collaboration with over fifteen artists, activists, and organizations. Together, we created more than twenty-five official unofficial voting stations in cities all over the United States and in Mexico. Each took a different form. Some were public sculptural installations, others were performative guerilla actions, and many served as pedagogical tools to engage students and prompt them to create their own voting stations open to all. In an election season in which the disenfranchised were rendered silent and invisible, these events were occasions not only for casting symbolic votes but also for loud celebration and protest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"metaslider-id-14523\" style=\"max-width: 1000px; margin: 0 auto;\" class=\"ml-slider-3-19-1 ml-slider-pro-2-18-1 metaslider metaslider-nivo metaslider-14523 ml-slider ml-slider-lightbox-1-11-3 gallery wp-featherlight-1-3-4 ms-theme-architekt has-dots-nav\">\n    <div id=\"metaslider_container_14523\">\n        <div class='slider-wrapper theme-default'><div class='ribbon'><\/div><div id='metaslider_14523' class='nivoSlider'><a href=\"https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/5figures-scaled.jpg\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"lightbox[14523]\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/5figures-scaled-1000x750.jpg\" height=\"750\" width=\"1000\" data-caption=\"Brandon Bullard, &lt;i&gt;Official Unofficial Voting Station&lt;\/i&gt;, Heidelberg Project, Detroit, 2016 (photograph by Brandon Bullard)\" alt=\"People standing around a painted wooden structure featuring an American flag and a sign that says &quot;Vote Here&quot;\" class=\"slider-14523 slide-14524\" \/><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Tijuana-Voto-Ilegal.jpg\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"lightbox[14523]\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Tijuana-Voto-Ilegal-1000x750.jpg\" height=\"750\" width=\"1000\" data-caption=\"Cecilia Aguilar Castillo and Erick Fern&aacute;ndez Salda&ntilde;a, &lt;i&gt;Voto Ilegal: Official Unofficial Voting Station&lt;\/i&gt;, Mexico City, Tijuana, and Acapulco, Mexico, 2016 (photograph by Erick Fern&aacute;ndez Salda&ntilde;a)\" alt=\"A table with ballots and a ballot box in front of a metal wall topped with crucifixes and barbed wire, next to an American flag with holes cut out of it\" class=\"slider-14523 slide-14525\" \/><\/a><\/div><\/div>\n        \n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now, with the upcoming 2020 presidential election, even more is at stake, and again we face the prospect of rampant voter suppression. In response, and to expand the project, I created<em> Voting Kit for the Disenfranchised<\/em>, a collection of objects made by myself and other Chicago-based artists for distribution to, and activation of, official unofficial voting stations in the United States and around the world. To start, I created fifty kits that anyone can request to initiate their own voting station, and almost all have now been distributed. Included in <em>Voting Kit for the Disenfranchised<\/em> are these items:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>100 <em>Official Unofficial <\/em>presidential candidate ballots<\/li><li>100 <em>Official Unofficial<\/em> issues ballots<\/li><li>1 <em>Official Unofficial<\/em> ballot box<\/li><li>2 <em>Who Can\u2019t Legally Vote in the United States during the Presidential Elections<\/em>? graphics, by Cute Rage Press<\/li><li>51 <em>Voting Stickers for All,<\/em> by Cute Rage Press<\/li><li>50 <em>If We Could Vote, We Would! <\/em>wristbands, by Undocumented Projects<\/li><li><em>Party as Protest<\/em>, a compilation by DJ Sadie Woods, on USB stick or vinyl LP<\/li><li>50 <em>Actions to Expand Voting Rights<\/em> flyers, by Erin Delaney and Aram Han Sifuentes<\/li><li><em>Vote for Our Futures<\/em> and <em>Vota Para Nuestro Futuro<\/em> screen-print posters, by William Estrada<\/li><li><em>Let Us Vote! <\/em>or<em> Official Unofficial Voting Station: Voting for All Who Legally Can\u2019t<\/em>, a banner from Protest Banner Lending Library, by Aram Han Sifuentes, Ver\u00f3nica Casado Hern\u00e1ndez, and Sarah Whyte<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The kit is intended as inspiration. Those who are activating their own voting station can pick and choose which materials to use and which to riff on. There are no limitations to the uses of the kit. My only request is that \u201cactivators\u201d share the voting results, along with any other documentation they wish to contribute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"metaslider-id-14530\" style=\"width: 100%; margin: 0 auto;\" class=\"ml-slider-3-19-1 ml-slider-pro-2-18-1 metaslider metaslider-flex metaslider-14530 ml-slider ml-slider-lightbox-1-11-3 lightbox-disabled ms-theme-architekt has-dots-nav\">\n    <div id=\"metaslider_container_14530\">\n        <div id=\"metaslider_14530\" class=\"flexslider\">\n            <ul aria-live=\"polite\" class=\"slides\">\n                <li style=\"display: block; width: 100%;\" class=\"slide-14531 ms-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"2560\" src=\"https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/1.-Ballot-Box-1-scaled.jpg\" class=\"slider-14530 slide-14531\" alt=\"Two ballots being put inside an Official Unofficial Voting Station ballot box\" rel=\"\" title=\"\" style=\"margin: 0 auto; width: 75%\" srcset=\"https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/1.-Ballot-Box-1-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/1.-Ballot-Box-1-500x500.jpg 500w, https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/1.-Ballot-Box-1-1000x1000.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/1.-Ballot-Box-1-200x200.jpg 200w, https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/1.-Ballot-Box-1-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/1.-Ballot-Box-1-2048x2048.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/1.-Ballot-Box-1-720x720.jpg 720w, https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/1.-Ballot-Box-1-560x560.jpg 560w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><div class=\"caption-wrap\"><div class=\"caption\">Ballots and ballot box, from <i>Voting Kit for the Disenfranchised<\/i>, 2020 (photograph by Thaib A. Wahab)<\/div><\/div><\/li>\n                <li style=\"display: none; width: 100%;\" class=\"slide-14532 ms-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" src=\"https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/4.-Sticker-Party-1-scaled.jpg\" class=\"slider-14530 slide-14532\" alt=\"Colorful branded stickers and wristbands, a USB stick with music, and &quot;Expand Voting Rights&quot; flyers\" rel=\"\" title=\"\" style=\"margin-top: 4.16015625%\" srcset=\"https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/4.-Sticker-Party-1-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/4.-Sticker-Party-1-500x333.jpg 500w, https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/4.-Sticker-Party-1-1000x667.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/4.-Sticker-Party-1-200x133.jpg 200w, https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/4.-Sticker-Party-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/4.-Sticker-Party-1-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/4.-Sticker-Party-1-720x480.jpg 720w, https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/4.-Sticker-Party-1-560x373.jpg 560w, https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/4.-Sticker-Party-1-scaled-150x100.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><div class=\"caption-wrap\"><div class=\"caption\">Objects from <i>Voting Kit for the Disenfranchised<\/i> (<i>clockwise from left<\/i>): Cute Rage Press (Aram Han Sifuentes and Ishita Dharap), <i>Voting Stickers for ALL<\/i>, 2020; DJ Sadie Woods, <i>Party as Protest<\/i> compilation notes, 2020; Erin Delaney and Aram Han Sifuentes, <i>Actions to Expand Voting Rights<\/i> flyer, 2020; Undocumented Projects, <i>If We Could Vote, We Would!<\/i> wristbands, 2020; DJ Sadie Woods, <i>Party as Protest<\/i> USB stick, 2020 (photograph by Thaib A. Wahab)<\/div><\/div><\/li>\n                <li style=\"display: none; width: 100%;\" class=\"slide-14533 ms-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1384\" src=\"https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Banner-1-_-2-scaled.jpg\" class=\"slider-14530 slide-14533\" alt=\"One banner says &quot;Let Us Vote!&quot; in bold, colorful neon letters on a black background; next to it, another banner says &quot;The Official Unofficial Voting Station: Voting for All Who Legally Can\u2019t&quot; in neon green on black\" rel=\"\" title=\"\" style=\"margin-top: 10.46875%\" srcset=\"https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Banner-1-_-2-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Banner-1-_-2-500x270.jpg 500w, https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Banner-1-_-2-1000x541.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Banner-1-_-2-200x108.jpg 200w, https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Banner-1-_-2-1536x830.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Banner-1-_-2-2048x1107.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Banner-1-_-2-720x389.jpg 720w, https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Banner-1-_-2-560x303.jpg 560w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><div class=\"caption-wrap\"><div class=\"caption\">Protest Banner Lending Library, <i>Let Us Vote!<\/i> and <i>Official Unofficial Voting Station<\/i>, 2020, textile banners (photograph by Thaib A. Wahab)<\/div><\/div><\/li>\n                <li style=\"display: none; width: 100%;\" class=\"slide-14534 ms-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1902\" src=\"https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/7.-Vota-2-_-3-scaled.jpg\" class=\"slider-14530 slide-14534\" alt=\"Two silkscreen posters with neon-colored text on white background that say &quot;Vote for Our Futures, for Our Communities, for Our Children, for Those Who Can\u2019t&quot; in both English and Spanish\" rel=\"\" title=\"\" style=\"margin-top: 0.3515625%\" srcset=\"https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/7.-Vota-2-_-3-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/7.-Vota-2-_-3-500x371.jpg 500w, https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/7.-Vota-2-_-3-1000x743.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/7.-Vota-2-_-3-200x149.jpg 200w, https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/7.-Vota-2-_-3-1536x1141.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/7.-Vota-2-_-3-2048x1522.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/7.-Vota-2-_-3-720x535.jpg 720w, https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/7.-Vota-2-_-3-560x416.jpg 560w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><div class=\"caption-wrap\"><div class=\"caption\">William Estrada, <i>Vote for Our Futures<\/i> and <i>Vota Para Nuestro Futuro<\/i>, 2020, screenprint posters (photograph by Thaib A. Wahab)<\/div><\/div><\/li>\n            <\/ul>\n        <\/div>\n        \n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Today, <em>Voting Kit for the Disenfranchised<\/em>&nbsp;is primarily being set up in community organizations; used in classrooms for student voting and to prompt students to activate their own voting stations; used in tandem with voter registration drives; activated by artists as inspiration for their own projects; and installed in various museums, universities, and colleges. An example is <a href=\"http:\/\/skirball.org\/voting-station\">this virtual exhibition<\/a> at the Skirball Cultural Center, Los Angeles, where visitors receive a \u201cVoted Despite the System\u201d justice kit. Mural Arts Philadelphia is creating a stand-alone voting station in Love Park, with student-generated materials that highlight the histories of voting rights,&nbsp;voter suppression, and voter advocacy.&nbsp;For her project<em> <a href=\"http:\/\/motovoto.org\/\">Moto Voto<\/a><\/em>, artist and community organizer Carol Zou is driving around Los Angeles with a \u201cballot box\u201d attached to the back of her motorcycle and collecting symbolic votes and distributing information about voter suppression and disenfranchisement. These activations come together as a series of interconnected gestures meant to empower disenfranchised people and reimagine civic engagement in playful ways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><a href=\"http:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/MotoVoto-scaled.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"750\" src=\"http:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/MotoVoto-1000x750.jpg\" alt=\"The artist Carol Zou on her motorcycle with a ballot box on the back of the bike, next to a pop-up flag giving info about the voting station\" class=\"wp-image-14516\" srcset=\"https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/MotoVoto-1000x750.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/MotoVoto-500x375.jpg 500w, https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/MotoVoto-200x150.jpg 200w, https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/MotoVoto-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/MotoVoto-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/MotoVoto-720x540.jpg 720w, https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/MotoVoto-560x420.jpg 560w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/a><figcaption>Carol Zou, <i>Moto Voto + Official Unofficial Voting Station<\/i>, Los Angeles, 2020 (photograph by Carol Zou)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In light of the pandemic and its attendant concerns over safety and accessibility, over the summer I worked with new-media artist Jon Satrom to create a virtual iteration of the voting stations, <a href=\"http:\/\/officialunofficial.vote\/?event=AJO\">Officialunofficial.vote<\/a>. On the website one can \u201cvote\u201d in one of eight different languages for presidential candidates, write in one\u2019s own candidates, vote on other people\u2019s write-ins, vote on voters\u2019 rights issues, write in one\u2019s own issues, vote on other people\u2019s issues, and give voice to one\u2019s motivations ( \u201cI am voting here because . . .\u201d). Contributions already made include \u201cAbolish ICE,\u201d \u201cAbolish prisons,\u201d \u201cCancel the electoral college,\u201d \u201cArrest the police who killed Breonna Taylor,\u201d and \u201cNo new SCOTUS until after the election.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"564\" src=\"http:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/OfficialUnofficial-1000x564.png\" alt=\"Screenshot of &quot;Official unofficial votes&quot; website; two hands in neon colors reach to buttons that say &quot;Vote&quot; and &quot;Act.&quot; The words &quot;Unofficial Voting Station&quot; glow at the top.\" class=\"wp-image-14517\" srcset=\"https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/OfficialUnofficial-1000x564.png 1000w, https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/OfficialUnofficial-500x282.png 500w, https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/OfficialUnofficial-200x113.png 200w, https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/OfficialUnofficial-1536x867.png 1536w, https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/OfficialUnofficial-2048x1156.png 2048w, https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/OfficialUnofficial-720x406.png 720w, https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/OfficialUnofficial-560x316.png 560w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><figcaption>Aram Han Sifuentes and Jon Satrom, home page of Officialunofficial.vote, 2020 (screenshot by Aram Han Sifuentes)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Under the heading \u201cACT,\u201d the website houses the collaborating artists\u2019 projects that are included in <em>Voting Kit for the Disenfranchised <\/em>(digitized for the online platform), along with digital tools enabling anyone to use and promote the collaborative project. For example, to share this project with <em>Art Journal Open<\/em> readers, Satrom created an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/ar\/783015609160230\/\">Instagram filter using <em>Voting Stickers for All<\/em><\/a>, for taking selfies to document voting at the <em>Official Unofficial Voting Station<\/em>. In addition, on this section of the website Estrada and I developed a downloadable curriculum and tools for educators to engage students around the issue of disenfranchisement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"561\" src=\"http:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/System-1000x561.png\" alt=\"Screenshot of &quot;Official unofficial votes&quot; website. The words &quot;Unofficial Voting Station&quot; glow at the top; text in the middle says &quot;The System is Broken&quot; over a background of upraised hands\" class=\"wp-image-14518\" srcset=\"https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/System-1000x561.png 1000w, https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/System-500x280.png 500w, https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/System-200x112.png 200w, https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/System-1536x862.png 1536w, https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/System-2048x1149.png 2048w, https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/System-720x404.png 720w, https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/System-560x314.png 560w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><figcaption>Aram Han Sifuentes and Jon Satrom, \u201cThe System is Broken,\u201d Officialunofficial.vote, 2020 (screenshot by Aram Han Sifuentes)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On the website under \u201cView,\u201d tallies for the votes and the responses to the prompt \u201cI am voting here because . . .\u201d are compiled. The website is a place of convergence, a communal space where we can read each other\u2019s votes and responses. In this way it becomes a gathering site to discuss and vote on issues that are most pertinent in these politically challenging times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What would voting look like if it were more accessible? What would it look like if the disenfranchised were the ones to determine what appears on ballots? <em><a href=\"http:\/\/officialunofficial.vote\/?event=AJO\">The Official Unofficial Voting Station<\/a><\/em>, in all of its activations, creates sites of empowerment, protest, shared resources, and social engagement. Ours is a collective art project making visible and fighting against disenfranchisement in the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aramhansifuentes.com\"><strong>Aram Han Sifuentes<\/strong><\/a> is a fiber and social-practice artist working to claim spaces for immigrant and disenfranchised communities. Her work often revolves around skill sharing, especially of sewing techniques, to create multiethnic and intergenerational sewing circles, which become a place for empowerment, subversion, and protest. She is currently the 2020\u201321 artist-in-residence at Loyola University Chicago.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator is-style-wide\"\/>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Exposing voter suppression through performance and installation art<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":14514,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"kia_subtitle":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[1591,1469,1472,1470,1468,1473,1471],"class_list":["post-14526","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-projects","tag-aramhansifuentes","tag-disenfrancisement","tag-letusvote","tag-officialunofficialvotingstation","tag-voting","tag-votingforall","tag-votingforallwholegallycant",""],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14526","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14526"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14526\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/14514"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14526"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14526"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artjournal.collegeart.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14526"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}