In corroboration with the weekly crowds of No Kings protesters on the Damariscotta-Newcastle bridge, Jean Kigel presents "Displacement: Immigrant Portraits" at Skidompha Library during January. A year ago, Kigel began painting faces of immigrants as ICE ramped up deportations. She has researched current immigration facts, which accompany each portrait. 

Immigration has long been a part of human history. The faces in Kigel’s portraits reveal anguish, determination, despair and hope. Uprooted by war, famine, persecution, pandemic, climate change, corrupt regime, and economic collapse, a variety of immigrants have left their home country to come to the United States. They make up a valuable part of our country’s labor force and intellectual leadership.

People in these paintings come from Venezuela, Honduras, Costa Rice, Panama, Mexico, Ukraine, Gaza, the Democratic Republic of Congo, China and India.

Library hours: Tuesday through Friday 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. For more information: www.jeankigel.com.

Skidompha Public Library is located at 184 Main St. in downtown Damariscotta.