Jaclyn Reyes

We Belong
HAND-PAINTED BANNERS & SIGNS, 2021

Developed through a participatory workshop with the Queens Museum as part of No Longer Invisible, April 10–11, 2021; presented at the inaugural Little Manila Block Party, October 2, 2021, Woodside, Queens, NY; and also included in Little Manila Queens: Mabuhay!, on view at MoMA PS1, May 16–October 21, 2024.

We Belong is a participatory sign art project developed with the Queens Museum in partnership with organizers of No Longer Invisible, a multi‑racial, multi‑faith vigil and community gathering responding to ongoing attacks against AAPI communities. The museum presented collectively hand‑painted banners, individual signs, and video documentation, and invited Little Manila Queens Bayanihan Arts to lead a public workshop centered on the phrase “We Belong.” Rooted in the visual language of hand‑painted storefront and sidewalk signage common to Flushing and other immigrant neighborhoods, the project assembled multilingual affirmations contributed by museum teens, staff, visitors, and community members.

We Belong Project Proposal, 2021

The banner’s configuration references the symbolism of Tibetan prayer flags—networks of color that signal peace, compassion, strength, and wisdom—reimagined here as a civic surface for shared declarations across East, Southeast, and South Asian communities in Queens. By weaving multiple languages and styles into a single field, We Belong frames belonging as collective authorship rather than a singular statement.