they never asked
suspicious or not –
just put us away

By Sen Taro, a poet incarcerated by the U.S. Wartime Civil Control Administration in the 1940s

The exhibition they never asked examines systemic, racialized U.S. immigration enforcement and confinement, showing how creative expression and documentation can counter forced erasure. Tracing over 200 years of policy, the show features the artwork of Wheaton alumna Momo Nagano, who was incarcerated at Manzanar, an American concentration camp, during World War II, alongside Mariam Ghani and Chitra Ganesh’s archival project the Index of the Disappeared. Local and historical resources include Mapping Deportations, a data visualization history project and book on Rhode Island detention created by Honora Spicer and Giancarlo Huapaya with the AMOR network.

The exhibition will be on display September 10–November 14, 2026.

Gallery hours: Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday 1–5 p.m., Thursday 1–8 p.m..