From May 3 to 31, 2021, Union Station hosted a human trafficking exhibit entitled “What You See Is Not Who I Am”. The display featured a striking series of three murals, each with a different theme (sex trafficking, labor trafficking, and agricultural labor trafficking), created in partnership with Groundswell’s Teen Empowerment Mural Apprenticeship (TEMA) program. TEMA is an after-school program for young people to learn how to paint murals and use art for social change.

Under the leadership of ArtWorks for Freedom Founder and Director Kay Chernush, and guided by Groundswell artists Nicole Schulman and Edwin Vazquez, 20 young artists learned about the global epidemic of human trafficking and worked together to research, design, and create the impressive installation. The murals were made possible with support from the Embrey Family Foundation.

An interview with Kay Chernush, conducted at the installation in Union Station, can be seen here and a short video of the panels is also available. To learn about the production process and hear some of the artists’ thoughts, please watch this video.

Photo Credit: Jennifer Rouse, USRC Program Assistant