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.”
aminextla.org | lapca.org/exhibition/we-belong-here
ABOUT THE MUSIC CENTER
As L.A.’s performing arts center, The Music Center convenes artists, communities and ideas with the goal of deepening the cultural lives of every resident in Los Angeles County. The $80 million non-profit performing arts organization has two divisions: TMC Arts and TMC Ops. TMC Arts, The Music Center’s programming engine, provides year-round programming inside The Music Center’s four theatres, on Jerry Moss Plaza, outside at Gloria Molina Grand Park—a 12-acre adjacent green space—in schools and other locations all over Los Angeles County. TMC Arts presents world-class dance with Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center, free and low-cost public concerts and events, live and digital K–12 arts education programs, workshops, performances, interactive experiences and special events. TMC Ops manages the theatres, the Plaza and Gloria Molina Grand Park, which comprise $3 billion in county assets, on behalf of the County of Los Angeles. The Music Center is also home to four renowned resident companies—Center Theatre Group, Los Angeles Master Chorale, LA Opera and LA Phil. For more information, visit musiccenter.org. Follow The Music Center on social media @MusicCenterLA.
ABOUT GLORIA MOLINA GRAND PARK
A vibrant outdoor gathering place, Gloria Molina Grand Park is a beautiful public park for the entire community in Los Angeles County. With expansive green space for gatherings large and small, Gloria Molina Grand Park celebrates the county’s cultural vitality and is host to community events, cultural experiences, holiday celebrations and many other activities that engage and attract visitors from all communities. The 12-acre Gloria Molina Grand Park stretches from The Music Center on the west to City Hall on the east and is easily accessible by Metro via the B/D (formerly Red/Purple) line to the Civic Center/Grand Park station. Working closely with the county, The Music Center is responsible for all operations and programming for the park. For more information, visitgrandparkla.org. Follow Gloria Molina Grand Park on Instagram, X, Twitch, TikTok, Spotify and Mixcloud (@grandpark_la) as well as YouTube and Facebook (@grandparkLosAngeles).
ABOUT LA PLAZA DE CULTURA Y ARTES
LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes is a community hub where people gather to celebrate Latinx culture through transformative exhibitions, music, dance, culinary arts and multigenerational artmaking and storytelling experiences. An anchor cultural institution in Los Angeles County, LA Plaza centers the Latino experience and provides a space to uplift, share and preserve the stories of Mexicans, Mexican Americans and Latinx people in Southern California. Established in 2011, LA Plaza is a non-profit organization and a Smithsonian affiliate museum.
ABOUT CALIFORNIA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION
The California Community Foundation has served Los Angeles County since 1915 as a public charitable organization dedicated to leading systemic change that strengthens communities. Managing $2.3 billion in assets and overseeing 1,900 charitable foundations, funds and legacies, the foundation’s mission is to invest in, partner with and amplify the power of community toward a good life.
# # #