From live music to beautiful art to radical zines, there is something for everybody at the opening party to the 2019 Fight Toxic Prisons Convergence: No Borders Fest.
The event will take place from 6 p.m. to 1 a.m. this Friday at the Civic Media Center. It is free for everyone, but donations between $5 and $15 are suggested.
The idea for No Borders Fest was created by Connect the Dots founder Manu Osorio and Dion Dia co-founder Laila Fakhoury to support the organization Fight Toxic Prisons.
Connect the Dots is a Gainesville art collaboration that highlights artists who create work with the purpose of highlighting marginalized groups.
“The event is a benefit show for the Fight Toxic Prisons bailout of incarcerated individuals this Father's Day,” Osorio said.
Fight Toxic Prisons is an organization that advocates for the health and safety of incarcerated individuals through grassroots activism.
“Fight Toxic Prisons recognizes prisons as what they are: environmentally damaging on every level,” said Fight Toxic Prisons employee Karen Smith.
“We fight mass incarceration as just that, an environmental issue,” she said.
The event will include an art show from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., displaying art made by incarcerated individuals along with an auditory display of their voices.
There will also be a Radical Zine Fair at the same time where guests can browse through reading material and have conversations with activists. Local musicians, Hugo $anchez, La Marea Vuelve, Mike Africa and Villainus will be performing live from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Radha’s Kitchen will serve vegan food from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. and artists Hilt Productions, geexella as well as Juntos will be DJing a silent disco for the rest of the night.
Osorio said that she wants No Borders Fest to be an event where people can have fun while supporting local artists and donating to an important cause.
“We want to support a scene that prioritizes immigrant artists and artists of color,” Osorio said.
