TOM KIEFER: El Sueño Americano / The American Dream is a photographic documentation of the personal belongings carried by migrants and those seeking asylum that were seized by U.S. Customs and Border Projection at a processing facility near the artist’s home in Ajo, Arizona. U.S. border agents deemed these belongings as non-essential or potentially lethal. Kiefer asks the viewer to consider these photographs as untold and unknown stories, markers of human journeys cut short, creating a personal connection for the viewer that extends compassion and empathy to those who make the dangerous journey across the desert to see a better life.

A full schedule of programming aims to educate the public through presentations, panel discussions, and workshops that provide regional context and encourage respectful civil dialogue on the impact of political borders: https://coconinoarts.org/exhibitions/tom-kiefer-el-sueno-americano/

The presentation of TOM KIEFER: El Sueño Americano / The American Dream at Coconino Center for the Arts is supported by Arizona Humanities, Arizona Community Foundation of Flagstaff, and Northern Arizona University – Martin Springer Institute.