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Paola Pivi
You know who I am
On the High Line at 16th Street
Paola Pivi’s You know who I am is a large-scale cast bronze replica of the Statue of Liberty wearing various cartoonish masks. The masks, which will be changed over the course of the installation, are stylized portraits of individuals whose personal experiences of freedom are directly connected to the United States.
Learn more about Marco, whose mask was featured on the sculpture from July to October 2022:
Marco is one of six individuals whose likeness will grace the sculpture You know who I am over the course of its installation on the High Line.
Marco Saavedra is an artist, poet, restaurateur, longtime immigrant rights activist, and community organizer based in the South Bronx, New York. Marco and his family are undocumented immigrants who run a beloved neighborhood restaurant, La Morada, and have been on the frontlines of immigration justice and community activism for over a decade. He has been involved in several high-profile immigration actions and his 2021 political asylum case caught national attention. Most importantly, his case set a legal precedent for undocumented activists seeking refugee status in the US.
Marco was born to an Indigenous family in a small town named San Miguel Ahuehuetitlán near Oaxaca, Mexico, and brought to the US as a child. Marco and his family crossed the US-Mexico border in 1992 and settled in Washington Heights, a predominantly immigrant neighborhood. Marco’s parents worked several jobs including garment factory worker, high school janitor, gas station attendant, and food delivery person, until ultimately opening up a restaurant. After excelling in middle school, Marco was recommended for Prep for Prep, a nonprofit that aids in the education and school placement of promising students of color. In eighth grade, he was accepted to Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts. Marco eventually received a full scholarship to Kenyon College in Ohio.
Unable to spend a semester abroad during his junior year due to his undocumented status, Marco enrolled at Georgetown University in Washington, DC, where he joined a group of immigration activists known as “Dreamers.” They took their name from the DREAM Act, an as-yet-unpassed bill that would grant conditional permanent residency to undocumented immigrants who arrived in the US as minors, have stayed for at least five years, graduated from high school, and have no criminal record. After graduation, he started organizing full time for the National Immigrant Youth Alliance (NIYA), a grassroots group of mostly undocumented students fighting for immigrant rights.
In 2012, as part of the NIYA, he turned himself in to immigration authorities in order to provide direct support to detained migrants at the Broward Transitional Center in Deerfield Beach, Florida. While in the detention center, he spoke with hundreds of “low-priority” detainees and encouraged them to call the NIYA hotline, where they could receive legal advice on their specific cases. All detainees existed in official limbo. After continued organizing and even a hunger strike, Marco’s infiltration made national news. After 23 days, Marco was released, out of concern that the center would receive bad attention from the press, but not before initiating his deportation proceedings.
In 2014, he self-deported to Mexico with two other young undocumented activists. From the Mexico side of the border, the activists approached border officials in the US and demanded to be let in and granted asylum. This action was in solidarity with those who were already deported or outside of the US and would have benefited from President Obama’s 2012 executive action that granted protection to eligible immigrants who came to the US when they were children from deportation, referred to as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). They were wearing their graduation caps and gowns—a uniform that had become the unofficial symbol of the Dreamer movement. This action was heavily reported on in the US media. Marco became the first of his peers of activists to be granted asylum in the US in 2021.
While Marco fought his asylum case and continued his activism, he also worked at his family’s restaurant, La Morada. In 2020, since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, La Morada has operated a mutual aid kitchen and provides free meals for hundreds of community members.
Marco is also an artist and a poet. Learn more about his art and poetry.
Artist bio
Paola Pivi (b. 1971, Milan, Italy) lives and works in Anchorage, Alaska. Recent solo exhibitions have been featured at institutions including Arken Museum of Modern Art, Ishøj, Denmark (2020); The Bass Museum, Miami Beach, Miami, Florida (2018); Savannah College of Art and Design, Savannah, Georgia (2018); La Rinascente, Milan, Italy (2017); Dallas Contemporary, Dallas, Texas (2016); FRAC Bourgogne, Dijon, France (2014); National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia (2014); Witte de With, Rotterdam, Netherlands (2013); and Rockbund Art Museum, Shanghai, China (2012). Public solo commissions include High Line Art, New York, New York (2012) and Public Art Fund, New York, New York (2012). Notable group exhibitions include Io dico Io – I say I, Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea, Rome, Italy (2021); Trittico, Fondazione Prada, Milan, Italy (2016); and Senso Unico, MOMA PS1, New York, New York (2007). Major international exhibitions include the Yokohama Triennial, Japan (2018) and the 48th Venice Biennale, Italy (1999).
Support
Fonderia Artistica Battaglia aims to share their historical expertise in artistic bronze, initiating contemporary artists into the practice. You know who I am was Pivi’s first artwork cast in bronze; the team at Battaglia guided her throughout the fabrication process.
Paola Pivi, You know who I am, is made possible, in part, by an in-kind donation from Matteo Visconti, Fonderia Artistica Battaglia, Milan, and support from Perrotin and Massimo De Carlo; with thanks to the engineering firm Pro Iter, Milan.
The title You know who I am was conceived by Karma Culture Brothers.