Sag Harbor Cinema continued its “Projections” series on October 9th, 2023, from 1:00-3:00 pm with a free event featuring the Salvadorian-American artist J. Oscar Molina in conversation with Minerva Perez, Executive Director of OLA of Eastern Long Island; Esperanza León, Head of Education & Community Engagement at the LongHouse Reserve; Mago Martinez, Latinx artist, filmmaker, and diversity curator; and Cristina Cuomo, Founder and Editor-in-Chief of PURIST magazine, who moderated the panel.

The Cinema partnered with OLA of Eastern Long Island, Inc. (Organización Latino Americana), a nonprofit Latino-focused advocacy organization working in the five East End towns of East Hampton, Southampton, Riverhead, Southold, and Shelter Island, for this “Projections” program.

Before the panel discussion, there was a screening of “Children of the World” (2023), a 15-minute film that explores Molina’s history and art practice. The short documentary utilizes the artist’s work to illuminate the difficulties, struggles, and fears as well as the dreams, strength, and beauty of immigrants fleeing violence and poverty in their home countries to seek asylum and refuge in the United States. The documentary was directed by Marsin Mogielski and produced by Martinez.

“Lo que me intriga es la política, la cultura y la identidad: cómo se cruzan e interactúan entre sí”, dice Molina. “Yo emigré a Estados Unidos desde El Salvador pero, para mí, una frontera no es más que un concepto. Ofrezco mi arte como una práctica social, como una invitación a una conversación muy necesaria entre diversas culturas. Creo que este intercambio es la clave para la preservación y evolución de nuestras tradiciones y es este intercambio el que enriquece a cada uno de nosotros y, como resultado, a nuestra comunidad”.

Foto de portada: Esculturas de la serie Niños del mundo de J. Oscar Molina actualmente en exhibición en LongHouse Reserve en East Hampton, Nueva York. Cortesía de J. Óscar Molina.