Ohio Immigrant Alliance at 934Fest: Art/Activism, Community/Collaborators
This last month, Dexter from Ohio Immigrant Alliance tabled for OIA at the 934Fest, an annual community arts and mural festival put on by 934Gallery in CBUS, the heart of Ohio. And even though some rainy weather delayed the start of the day, it was an amazing time!
This year’s festival featured a new mural that OIA was proud to help sponsor: “The Torchbearers” by local artist and muralist for the movement, Luka Weinberger. In Luka’s own words:
“This mural primarily is painted in electric blues and reds. It features a wall of ice being broken down by animals that have torches, hammers, and lit matches. The animals featured are monarch butterflies, great blue herons, and a cardinal...the animals are breaking us out.
It is a legacy being passed down of us taking care of each other...migration is a very earthling characteristic. A characteristic of all the inhabitants of this planet. We have a government that is trying to criminalize a very human behavior and that makes me angry.
The cardinal is Ohio's state bird, and I felt it important to not only feature animals that are famous for migration but also an animal that stays put. Ohio has taught me to be a neighbor. When others think of Ohio, I don't want them to think of a red state. I want them to think of a state on fire in the best way possible."
A full view of “The Torchbearers” Mural by Luka Weinberger. Photo credit to 934Gallery, 2026.
“Standing at our table, watching people stop and take in Luka’s mural, made it clear that the piece was going to stay with people long after the festival ended. It truly is a badass piece of public art!” said Dexter.
The festival itself was a beautiful thing to witness. Despite the rain, the community SHOWED UP, artists and non-artists alike, to support local art, live music, and the creative pulse of CBUS. Being an artist himself, Dexter said, “seeing the turnout warmed my heart.”
The performances were a highlight of the festival. Multiple stages, inside and outside the gallery, had acts running all day long, from song to rap to spoken word, and every performer brought their energy. At one point, a local rap artist had the crowd going with a “F*CK ICE” chant, and it was in that moment we knew we were in the right place.
Even after the sun went down, the energy stayed buzzing. Mural ReMix Digital Arts Collective, a local projection mapping artist collective, used the darkness and a projector to light up Luka’s mural with the same message — “F*CK ICE” — to close out the night, tying the visual art directly back to the community’s organizing against authoritarianism and ICE overreach in our neighborhoods. It was a powerful way to close out an already beautiful day.
Closing out his reflections on his experience tabling for Ohio Immigrant Alliance at 934Fest, Dexter noted that what he saw at 934Fest reminds us what it looks like when we recognize that art and activism aren’t separate things. Community is not our competition, but our collaborators, and we are all stronger together when we live eachother up. “I’m grateful to have been out there tabling for OIA, and even more grateful for a community that keeps showing up for each other, rain or shine,” he said.
Do you have an event in Central Ohio you’d like Ohio Immigrant Alliance to be at? We’d love to hear about it! If you have any upcoming events or community engagements you’d like OIA to table at, to support or fundraise for OIA with, or related to immigrant justice in Ohio, feel free to reach add it to the Ohio Is Home website here. We’d love to be there and help spread the word!
