Annual 32BJ art show takes on the political theme: ‘Sewing Peace

32BJ SEIU inaugurated its 19th annual art exhibition over the weekend. Art enthusiasts came out to the union's 25 West 18th Street headquarters in Manhattan to take a look at the works produced by 190 current and retired 32BJ members.

- By KAREN JUANITA CARRILLO Amsterdam News Staff

Everyday workers — people who are employed as security officers, commercial cleaners, residential building service workers, and airport workers — got the chance to show the world they could recreate through art.

This year's art exhibition displayed works created under the theme “Sewing Peace.” It's a subject that was proposed by Lilia Esther Barahona Barrera, a 32BJ member who works as a seasonal maintenance worker at Citi Field.

Barahona Barrera said in a statement that she chose the Sewing Peace theme in response to today’s political realities: “I based this work on the state of the world we face today,” she said. “It is an invitation to reflect on global peace. Through it, I wish to leave a message of union, reconstruction, and harmony. I firmly believe that we, as individuals, as well as our governments, can weave peace and build bridges between borders.”