The visual art exhibits were created in response to federal immigration raids and to highlight civil rights and community resilience.
Joining a handful of local organizations using their public spaces as platforms for reflection and belonging, The Music Center will present two bold visual art exhibits created in response to federal immigration raids and to highlight civil rights and community resilience. L.A.'s performing arts center will showcase the We Belong Here initiative by LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes in partnership with Am I Next?, a public movement led by the California Community Foundation that confronts growing injustice and challenges silence in the face of it. Through October 2026, both exhibits will transform the LED screens on Jerry Moss Plaza at the Music Center into giant platforms addressing these timely and compelling issues.
Additionally, Gloria Molina Grand Park—which is programmed and managed by The Music Center—will display Am I Next? in the park through the end of March 2026. The campaign's images will be projected on the wall of the Los Angeles County Hall of Records, best viewed from the Court of Flags (the park's Block 3) between Hill Street and Broadway.
“The Music Center's mission is to connect communities with art that can enrich their lives. By presenting We Belong Here and Am I Next?, we are bringing people together in public spaces through art that mirrors the lived experiences of the people who call Los Angeles home. These two region-wide exhibits ask urgent questions about belonging, dignity and due process—questions that resonate deeply with Angelenos,” said Rachel S. Moore, president and CEO of The Music Center. “It is our responsibility to make room for bold artistic expressions that encourage reflection and dialogue, especially at this very moment when communities, far and wide, are feeling vulnerable, angry or unseen.”
The We Belong Here exhibition will feature 18 artworks created by artists who use bold graphic design and visual storytelling to reflect the immigrant experience and heed the call for justice and equity: Lalo Alcaráz, John Fleissner, Joel García, Mario Hernández, Las Chicas Peligrosas, Man One, Ernesto Yerena Montejano and Lilia Ramírez “Liliflor.” Through this initiative, The Music Center and Gloria Molina Grand Park join other partners of LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes' We Belong Here project, including the California Community Foundation, the Social and Public Art Resource Center (SPARC) and the Japanese American National Museum (JANM).
“The Music Center's participation in presenting artwork from We Belong Here meaningfully expands the reach of this project,” said LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes Chief of Staff Tracy Serrano. “It also underscores the importance of cultural institutions working together to uplift immigrant voices and foster a sense of belonging across our city.”
The Am I Next? project features large-scale photographic images that invite all Angelenos to confront the attacks on civil liberties and the undermining of democratic norms that weaken civic life. The portraits feature a cross-section of Angelenos asking the question of whether they, too, can be taken away in immigration raids that have detained tens of thousands of people over the past year—including U.S. citizens. The portraits are paired with real accounts of fellow Angelenos who have been taken. Gloria Molina Grand Park displayed a preview of the installation during the park's annual NYELA celebration this past New Year's Eve.
“This is a call to action,” said California Community Foundation President and CEO Miguel A. Santana. “Am I Next? is more than a question. It is a declaration of courage, a stand for justice and a defense of our most sacred American values, because—until justice returns—none of us is free, none of us is safe.”
For more information about the “Am I Next?” campaign, visit aminextla.org
For more information about the “We Belong Here” campaign, visit lapca.org/exhibition/we-belong-here
Videos