We're Not All Here (No Estamos Todes)
September 26 - August 7, 2026
Location: Chicago Justice Gallery
Location: Chicago Justice Gallery
We’re Not All Here / No Estamos Todes unveils a powerful exhibition by Chilean-Canadian artist Soledad Fátima Muñoz that instigates critical awareness about the violence of orchestrated disappearances by authoritarian regimes, civil neglect, and forces unknown to the public. It manifests in the form of ethnic cleansing, political kidnappings and murder, deportations, and femicide. Using Chile's authoritarian dictatorship (1973-1990) as a site of departure, Muñoz weaves portraits created on the TC2 Jacquard Loom with copper and cotton fibers, interweaving narratives that memorialize the disappeared who have gone missing as a result of violence sanctioned by authoritative regimes and/or governmental neglect. Copper, a material deeply tied to the spiritual and histories of ancient healing, is poetically rendered by Muñoz. The artist uses the context of extraction and labor exploitation in Chile to uplift the memory of the disappeared. This body of work not only renders intimate tributes to the disappeared but also uses the conductivity of copper to produce interactive sound that is hauntingly projected throughout the gallery as a sonic memorial.
Drawing parallels between Chile, Palestine, and the United States—three geographies marked by disappearances of various types—We’re Not All Here / No Estamos Todes highlights the rich histories of memory work as resistance by the communities directly impacted, locally and globally. Using the language of weaving as both a literal and symbolic act, Muñoz stitches together stories of loss and resilience, exposing the universal mechanisms of political repression, surveillance, silencing, and erasure.
The phrase "no estamos todes" (meaning "we are not all here") originated within the context of collective actions and remembrance initiatives. It is a chant that has rung out across the Americas for decades to conjure the missing, disappeared, incarcerated, and murdered, often accompanied by the practice of calling out the name of the missing person, with the crowd responding, “¡Presente!” ("present" or "here") to affirm the memory of someone who is physically gone. These are mantric reminders of the continued presence of those who have been taken, and the burdens carried by the families who are left behind. From the Andes to Gaza to the streets of North American cities, this exhibition calls on us to witness, remember, and persist.
Participating Artists:
Soledad Fatima Munoz