Peterson, Corinne. Central American Realities. Exh. cat., Chicago: A.R.C. Gallery, 1993.
This text is the curatorial statement for Central American Realities, a group exhibition in which fifty artists addressed the social and political experience of refugees from Guatemala and El Salvador who sought sanctuary in the USA, specifically in Chicago churches and synagogues in 1992–93 to escape the effects of the 1980s civil wars. The exhibition sought to create awareness of the plight of asylum seekers and to denounce the repercussions of the United States' intervention in Central America, as well as the military and paramilitary death squads, and the kidnapping, torture and assassination of the civilian population. The exhibition also sought to engage in political activism through the arts in order to create a community of support for politically persecuted exiles. The document includes a roster of peace and refugee groups in Chicago region, as well as a suggested reading list.
This exhibition was organized by Corinne Peterson and Marybeth Coffey and presented at the A.R.C. Gallery in Chicago during February 2–27, 1993. It reflects the transnational nature and multiple interests at stake among Midwest arts organizations and artists, as well as a change in the influx of Latino populations in Chicago during the late 1980s and early 1990s, when the majority of immigrants were from Central American countries.