ARTIST STATEMENT
Asylum Seeker, New West Side
More than a year had passed since Texas Governor Greg Abbott orchestrated the first transport of asylum-seekers to Chicago, deploying them as pawns in a political stunt aimed to burden Democrat-led cities. What commenced as a calculated tactic has spiraled into a full-blown humanitarian crisis. Over 24,000 asylum-seekers have arrived by the busload, often with no money or personal belongings. The vast majority are from Venezuela and Central America, and are driven by the desperate need to escape violence, persecution, and poverty in their home countries. Asylum seekers take up temporary shelter in some green space adjacent to a police station on the Near West side of Chicago in the United States. At the time this photo was taken in early fall, about half of the 24, 000 migrants who arrived in Chicago since last year are still awaiting to be placed into temporary housing as the city struggles to find shelter space.
Asylum Seekers North Side Police Station
Asylum seekers, including children and pregnant women are stationed outside of a police station on the North Side of Chicago along with all of their belongings. Protocols state that those sheltering at the station are allowed to go inside to use the restrooms, but otherwise have to stay outside from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Over 24,000 asylum seekers have arrived in Chicago since summer 2022 and the demand for help has strained an already overloaded city shelter system.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Alexandra Buxbaum is a photographer whose work focuses on documenting the human experience of various people and cultures living in disparate urban environments around the world. Her objective is to capture aspects of everyday life of people as they live, work, and play.
Alexandra has worked professionally for major media outlets, and her photography has appeared in a myriad of news publications and books both nationally and internationally. She has exhibited in over 85 shows at galleries, cultural centers, and museums, and her photographs are in numerous private collections. Alexandra was an invited 2022 Art in Embassies Cultural Exchange artist with the U.S. Department of State.
© Alexandra Buxbaum