Bill Franz, Dayton Society of Artists Presents “And I Quote”: Art, Immigration, and Support for Detained Immigrants

This October, Dayton artist Bill Franz is putting immigration justice work on the walls.

“And I Quote” opens October 1st and runs through October 31st at the Main Dayton Metro Library, 215 East Third Street, in the 2nd Floor Gallery. His exhibition is structured around ten quotes relevant to immigration, including the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: “No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.”

Recently, Franz’s entry into the member show at the Springfield Art Museum sold, and he pledged to donate the ENTIRE PROCEEDS to the Detained Immigrants Commissary Fund! The piece itself is a head-on silhouette of what appears to be a young Black man or child, wearing a quilted shirt, against a quilted and multi-colored background (see below).

Bill Franz’s artwork that recently sold at the Springfield Art Museum, “In Springfield, They Are Eating The Dogs”, 2026.

His artwork asks what due process, dignity, and belonging actually mean, and who gets to claim belonging in the first place. “I've exhibited that piece in Dayton, in Columbus and most recently in Springfield,” Franz said. “It's sold three times. The work is digital, so I'm able to have another printed. I have them printed in Montreal and mailed to me. I'm trying not to take part in the trade war.”

The Dayton show is your next chance to see his latest pieces up close and in-person. There will be an artist reception on Thursday, October 1st, from 5:30PM to 7:30PM. This is the night to go! Meet the artist, see the full show before the month gets away from you, and stand in a room with other people who believe immigrants belong in Ohio, too.

At the reception, you’ll also find a QR code to donate directly to Ohio Immigrant Alliance’s Detained Immigrant Commissary Fund, which puts money directly into the accounts of immigrants currently detained by ICE so that they can buy food, phone time to contact loved ones, and basic necessities inside facilities that don’t provide much. Every dollar goes straight to someone who is sitting in a detention center right now.

Art like Franz’s reminds us that immigration isn’t an abstraction, and the power art has to make an impact. It reminds us that immigration is also about due process, about real-world people, someone’s family, someone’s freedom, someone’s long wait for a hearing date. It is in moments like this where artists can use their work to resist authoritarianism and stand by their immigrant neighbors, and Franz’s work is doing just that.

Come see the show, sit with the quotes, and if you can: scan the code and give what you’re able to. Ohio is HOME to all of us, including the people currently locked up and waiting to come back home to it. If you get to the show, take pictures and tag us on social media (@ohioimmigrantalliance). We’d love to see you show your support!

“And I Quote”, an exhibition by local Dayton artist Bill Franz, opens October 1st, 2026, at the Main Dayton Metro Library.