golden door project

The Golden Door Project consists of twenty-six language translations of a stanza of The New Colossus, by Emma Lazarus, transcribed onto 7.5 x 10 inch porcelain sheets. Nagy's inspiration: thoughts of her grandmother's immigration to America, wondering who might have translated Emma Lazarus poem to her as her passenger ship entered New York harbor.

"Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning

to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp

beside the golden door." Emma Lazarus, The New Colossus

arabic

00:00 / 00:18

armenian

00:00 / 00:25

bengali

00:00 / 00:17

bulgarian

00:00 / 00:16

chinese

00:00 / 00:21

creole

00:00 / 00:19

croatian

00:00 / 00:21

danish

00:00 / 00:16

english

00:00 / 00:17

french

00:00 / 00:16

gaelic

00:00 / 00:26

german

00:00 / 00:21

greek

00:00 / 00:25

hebrew

00:00 / 00:22

hindi

00:00 / 00:38

hungarian

00:00 / 00:59

italian

00:00 / 00:26

japanese

00:00 / 00:32

korean

00:00 / 00:21

persian

00:00 / 00:32

polish

00:00 / 00:17

portuguese

00:00 / 00:22

russian

00:00 / 00:14

scottish

00:00 / 00:19

spanish

00:00 / 00:22

yiddish

00:00 / 00:37

America’s port of entry has changed. Immigrants no longer travel to our country via passenger ships or come through Ellis Island for processing into our country.

To signify this change in procedures: An installation of white porcelain ‘wheelies’ display commemorate travel during the late 20th – 21st century and the plight of the immigrant.

To signify the changes in immigration policies since 2020 barbed wire encases the sculptures.