Thai El Monte Garment Workers Exhibition Design (Museum of Social Justice)
In 1995, federal and state authorities and local law enforcement conducted a raid in a row of residential duplexes in El Monte, California. This historical slavery case and the advancements that came from the case: such as the anti-trafficking movement and the landmark legislation, Trafficking Victims’ Protection Act (TVPA) was seen in an exhibition at the Los Angeles Museum of Social Justice. The 25th commemorative exhibition portrayed the El Monte victims and their stories which sparked more discourse around human trafficking and modern-slavery issues. The exhibition design included, a title wall, panels with important detailed information about all those involved in the raid and the case as well as a timeline of pivotal changes in laws and community activism in the Thai community in Los Angeles.
The task was to design (graphics, panels, images and text) in an exhibition space while simultaneously collaborating with the Thai CDC’s archival team for this exhibition at the Museum of Social Justice in Los Angeles. A design-thinking paradigm for the exhibition design process helped discover possible visual and interactive solutions to highlight the timeline of events, victims’ stories, photographs, news reports, and court documents from the case.
