An artist brought 'I.C.E. pops' to a Texas campus. The show was shut down in days
An art exhibition featuring sculptures of Mexican popsicles containing controversial items like handcuffs and parody ICE seals was shut down shortly after opening at the University of North Texas. The artist, Victor Quiñonez, intended the work to comment on the dual cultural identity of Latinos and immigration issues.
Why it matters
The incident highlights ongoing tensions regarding academic freedom and the role of political art on university campuses.
An art exhibition by Victor "Marka27" Quiñonez , whose work comments on issues facing U.S. Latinos, seemed like a natural fit for the campus of the University of North Texas in Denton, north of Dallas. Nearly a quarter of the students are Hispanic and the show focused on Quiñonez's dual cultural identity, as someone born in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, and raised in East Dallas, Texas.
Before it traveled to Texas, the show, called called "Ni De Aquí, Ni De Allá — Neither from Here Nor from There," had a successful run in Massachusetts at Boston University . But within a couple of days of its opening at UNT on Feb. 3, Quiñonez was being pinged on social media by students: The exhibition had been shut down.
"Ni De Aquí, Ni De Allá" incorporated pieces from a series Quiñonez calls "I.C.E. Scream," which includes large resin sculptures in bright colors.
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