Nature has no boundaries and its creatures can travel the world with no law in order to survive. The monarch butterfly is an international symbol of freedom and indicator of climate change. Mexican-American textile and fashion designer Summer Romero partners with conservation artist Eric Rejman to create a multi-sensory experience of native Mexico.
Summer has been combining traditional textile techniques and contemporary fashion with indigenous communities in Mexico for the past decade. Through this experience she learned the value of empowering indigenous Mexican women and environmental sustainability. Since 2016 she has lived in the mountains where the Mazahua culture resides and one of the main areas where monarch butterflies hibernate each winter.
Eric’s experience as an artist for the National Park Service has developed his awareness in the vital relationship between art and science in order to create a voice for nature. A University of Illinois Extension Master Gardener, he has been building habitat in Chicago support international migration of the declining butterfly since 2014.
Sojourner Zenobia uses alter building, ritual, vocal soundscaping, movement based storytelling and somatic healing practices as “now portals,” to each across time and connect with ancestors, listen to the earth and follow the wisdom of the bod. Sojourner graduated from Naropa University in 2006 with a BFA in multidisciplinary performance. In 2008 they founded Soul Journey Projects, a multi-disciplinary performance ensemble. Sojourner attended the School at Steppenwolf in 2009, and Pantheater in Paris 2012, where she studied choreographic theater, and Roy Hart experimental vocal technique. She has studied ritual and energy work in Chicago at Life Force Art Center.
Monarch butterflies have migrated freely without borders for millenia. Sin Fronteras is an event to sensitize humans by highlighting the relationship between native Mexico and Chicago. Through this experience people can reconnect with their lost relationship to nature.
