An set up on the Scope Artwork Present in Miami offered by the human rights organisation Amnesty Worldwide highlights alleged “government-sanctioned abuses” on the infamous migrant-detention facility within the Everglades nicknamed Alligator Alcatraz.
Works by the artists Agua Dulce Gloriosa and Clarence James kind a part of the Scope undertaking, generally known as Cruelty Is Their Level—However One other World is Potential, which “invitations fairgoers to mirror, reply and enact change by way of signing a petition that calls for the closure of Alligator Alcatraz”, Amnesty says.
Cheryl Johnson, Amnesty Worldwide USA’s arts and artistic partnerships affiliate, says that by way of this collaboration, the artists and Amnesty are encouraging communities to “study extra, take motion and take part calling for the closure of Alligator Alcatraz”.
Miami-based Dulce Gloriosa is displaying Untitled (a hope is however a dream is however a plan but put to motion) (2025). The work, an altar surrounded by flowers, fruit, candles and mirrors, is “a love poem to the parents who’re detained”, the artist tells The Artwork Newspaper. “It’s an announcement of solidarity amongst extra consumerist art-fair experiences, a prayer for these with the privilege of US citizenship to take motion. And a agency grounding that these seen as simply discarded by our administration and society won’t be forgotten.”
Avenue artist James’s work, titled Cruelty is The Level (2025), is a collage of newspaper clippings, archival images and posters. He additionally invitations guests to take a zip-tie and fasten it to a fence depicted within the work. “These components collapse time, exposing how cruelty repeats itself by way of the centuries beneath new names and new uniforms, however a greater future is feasible,” James mentioned in an announcement. The works will not be on the market.
Amnesty alleges in an announcement posted on the Scope stand: “Since opening in July 2025, there was systematic denial of due course of on account of the [Alligator Alcatraz] facility not being served by any immigration court docket, folks detained inside being ‘disappeared’ and completely untraceable, and firewalls in opposition to lawyer entry.
“Stories of unsanitary circumstances have surfaced: swarms of mosquitoes, maggot-infested meals, sweltering warmth, lack of medical care or primary hygiene, akin to working showers and bathrooms. These horrendous circumstances are government-sanctioned abuses they usually’re being funded with Floridians’ taxpayer {dollars}.”
Florida officers introduced plans for the detention facility on the distant Dade-Collier Coaching and Transition Airport, situated contained in the Large Cypress Nationwide Protect, in late June and moved shortly to open it on 3 July. The complicated is the primary federal immigration jail to be run by a state company; Florida’s Division of Emergency Administration (FDEM) operates it in partnership with the US Division of Homeland Safety. The FDEM was contacted for remark in regards to the Scope undertaking.
Amnesty additionally printed a report on 4 December stating that migrants held on the state-run Everglades facility, and at Miami’s Krome detention centre, proceed to be uncovered to “merciless, inhuman and degrading remedy”.
Molly Finest, the press secretary to Florida’s governor, Ron DeSantis, informed The Guardian: “None of those fabrications are true. In actual fact, operating these allegations with none proof in anyway might jeopardise the protection and safety of our workers and people being housed at Alligator Alcatraz.”
