WHAT IMMIGRANTS BRING

Celebrating Immigrants living in the U.S.

May 10 -- May 24, 2025, Agitator Gallery, IL

Curated by: Ramin Takloo-Bighash

The exhibition, WHAT IMMIGRANTS BRING documents and celebrates immigration to the United States from the perspective of personal nostalgia. Most families have heirlooms but what immigrants bring from their homeland, keep through the years, and pass down through generations, are more than just heirlooms--these objects are bridges to a past, to a former self that forms the basis on which immigrants build their present identities. These concrete objects serve a powerful purpose providing connection to homeland, to family members not seen for years, to childhoods, to former homes. 

The objects immigrants bring on their first trip to the US hold a special significance. These displacement artifacts are featured in this exhibition, along with other artworks, portraits and narratives about the stories and memories of individuals who immigrated to the U.S.