‘We Are For Freedoms’ Newly Translated into Spanish in UMCA and Translation Center Collaboration

The University Museum of Contemporary Art and the Translation Center debut their first collaborative project with the “We Are For Freedoms” exhibition now in Spanish.

The University Museum of Contemporary Art (UMCA) is proud to re-open its doors to all UMass students, staff, faculty and the local community on Thursday, Sept. 23. The re-opening celebration will take place from 5 to 7 p.m., with four exhibitions on view, a welcome from UMCA director Loretta Yarlow and live music from acapella group UMass Dynamics and a student jazz combo. UMCA is excited to have “We Are For Freedoms” among its returning exhibitions, newly translated into Spanish by María Camila Vera Arias and Aviva Palencia, thanks to the support of the UMass Amherst Translation Center and its director, professor Regina Galasso. The exhibition, which first debuted in March of 2021, will be open from Sept. 23 to Dec. 5.

“We Are For Freedoms” is in collaboration with the national, artist-led organization, For Freedoms, and features multimedia works from ten local artists responding to the question, “What does freedom mean to you?” The pieces reflect For Freedom’s mission as a platform for creative civic engagement, discourse, and direct action. To supplement this exploration of these ideas, the exhibition includes For Freedom’s Constellation Wall, a visual history of their public art across the country, and selections from the Archive for Social Change at the UMass Amherst Libraries Special Collections and University Archives.

The mission of “We Are For Freedoms” is self-evident: to showcase how various communities and individuals interpret, fight for, hope for, and embrace freedom. In keeping with these themes, UMCA is prioritizing equal-opportunity access to often sequestered art and history. Free copies of the artists’ work are downloadable on the online virtual exhibition. Furthermore, the inclusion of both English and Spanish will allow a wider range of communities to participate. The Translation Center not only offers language services to the general public so that everyone receives information in a language they fully understand, but it also seeks to transform the way people think and see language. Its contribution to “We Are For Freedoms” will not only make the exhibit more accessible to a greater number of people, but also help bridge the gap between academia, art and the communities they represent and serve. Going forward, the Translation Center is eager to work with local museums in order to make their collections accessible to all language communities.

For more information, check out the virtual exhibition, the UMCA website and the Translation Center website. Museum hours are Tuesday-Friday, 11 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 2-5 p.m.; first Thursdays until 8 p.m. The Translation Center is open to the public Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m., and can also be contacted at translate@umass.edu or  (413) 545-2203.

Si desea leer este artículo en español, consulte el sitio web del Translation Center.

To read this story in Spanish, please visit the Translation Center's website.