8 DALLAS OBSERVER • KALEIDOSCOPE All of His Art is Political The anti-ICE exhibit at UNT, which opened Feb. 3 and was sched- uled to remain on the campus until May 1, was covered from view just a week after opening. The touring installation, on its second stop at the college, won the Frieze Los Angeles Impact Prize in 2025. The artist wasn’t aware that his work was being removed until stu- dents from the university began reaching out on social media. Quiñonez still has not received an explanation from university officials, who informed him of the closure in an email with fewer than 100 words. “I created Ni de Aquí, Ni de Allá to honor the in-between spaces so many of us live in,” reads an official statement from the artist. “To have the work installed, welcomed, and then suddenly hidden behind cov- ered windows without explanation feels like being told, once again, that our stories are too uncomfortable to be seen.” While administration remains tight-lipped, students and faculty have openly condemned the school for alleged “censorship”. “Its removal, carried out silently and without accountability, echoes the very condition the work sought to illuminate,” wrote the college’s faculty in an open letter to the university. “In this moment, we find our- selves occupying that same in-between space: caught between insti- tutional values that are publicly affirmed and actions that remain unexplained.” An open letter from graduate students at the college expressed the same sentiments, and a memorial for the installation, with veladoras (candles placed in ofrendas) lit in remembrance. “These actions have created an atmosphere of uncertainty and fear among students and employees,” reads an open letter from the school’s master’s students. “This has had a chilling effect on free speech across the college. Many now question whether presenting challenging ideas in their artwork or even discussing recent censorship events could expose them to retaliation.” Amid the controversy, the region continues to celebrate Quiñonez and his unique style. An opening ceremony for Elevar La Cultura, hosted by the LCC just a few days after UNT removed Quiñonez’s art, sold out with over 300 attendees. “[This] sheds a light on how effective art can be,” Quiñonez says. “Exhibitions, murals, public art – it’s therapy. It’s art therapy. It’s heal- ing. It’s also empowering. When we hear music, when we see some- thing that moves us, the feeling becomes more important than the actual work. What people are feeling right now is a deep injustice, and they want to restore their faith in humanity, their faith in their univer- sity.” Elevar La Cultura is on display in the LCC courtyard through March 30. The work that was on display at the University of North Texas has been returned to the artist. A paleta cart, a fixture of Quinonez’s childhood in East Dallas, is among the pieces in Ni de Aquí, Ni de Allá. Steve Visneau
