Artbolish Ice: Resistance Poetry

El Martillo Press organizes a reading in support of the Artbolish ICE fine art show at Galeria Yasmin!

Galeria Yasmin

250 W 2nd St.

Pomona, CA 91766, USA

Free

All ages

Lorna Dee Cervantes

Allison Hedge Coke

Matt Sedillo

David A. Romero

Viva Padilla

Margaret Elysia Garcia

Yohanna Jaramillo

Ceasar K. Avelar

Yasmin Cardona

Marcos Gutierrez

An evening of protest poetry calling for the abolishment of ICE with Lorna Dee Cervantes, Allison Hedge Coke, Matt Sedillo, David A. Romero, Viva Padilla, Margaret Elysia Garcia, Yohanna Jaramillo, Ceasar K. Avelar, Yasmin Cardona and Marcos Gutierrez. These poets from California and Mexico will recite new ekphrastic poems inspired by paintings included in the Artbolish ICE art show.

ARTBOLISH ICE

Award-winning artist Lalo Alcaraz has curated a group art show called Artbolish ICE, taking place at Galeria Yasmin on August 8, 2026, and the opening is this Saturday, August 8, 2026, 6-8pm at Galeria Yasmin, 250 W. Second St., Pomona, CA. https://galeriayasmin.com/

The exhibition features politically and socially engaged artwork from a range of artists and voices from Southern California and beyond. All pieces — including paintings, drawings, sculptures, and other media — will be available for sale.

Galeria Yasmin hours are Monday- Friday, 9 am - 5 pm; Saturday, 9-12; other hours are by appointment only.

ARTBOLISH ICE CURATOR STATEMENT

I am the son of Mexican immigrants, and I firmly support all immigration into the US. Immigrants make the United States prosperous and keep it running. I strongly oppose the current Federal administration, ICE and its agents, and I choose to show my opposition by creating artworks that express my feelings about the current terror war against our brown communities, and really, everyone in the US, including the U.S. Constitution. I hope to abolish ICE through art!

As a visual artist and editorial cartoonist, I feel strongly about free speech and also about supporting my fellow artists. The idea for the show came from Yasmin and Jaime Gutierrez, owners of Galeria Yasmin, and so I coined “ARTBOLISH”, a word that would express my concept for the group show, “Artbolish ICE”, (a play on ABOLISH ICE.)

I reached out to artists who are friends and colleagues, and also artists from the political cartoon world, all who bent over backwards to participate in this group show. In fact, the response was so overwhelming that we could instantly produce a follow-up show, but we’ll have to wait for the premiere to start planning the sequel. But this response shows how outraged artists are about the attack on our immigrant and Latino communities. Decent people are outraged, and we invite them all to our opening night, and to see our show during its run of August 8, 2026 to September 26, 2026. We will also be having panels and workshops during the run of Artbolish ICE

-LALO ALCARAZ

For more info please contact Galeria Yasmin at: yasmin.glaw@gmail.com or via cell phone (626) 923-4503.

El Martillo Press

Founded by Matt Sedillo and David A. Romero, El Martillo Press publishes writers whose pens strike the page with clear intent; words with purpose to pry apart assumed norms and to hammer away at injustice. El Martillo Press proactively publishes writers looking to pound the pavement to promote their work and the work of their fellow pressmates. El Martillo is the builder of bridges and the destroyer of walls.