Philadelphia-based documentary photographer Ada Trillo is the focus of a solo exhibition currently on display at Montgomery County Community College’s Pottstown gallery through Oct. 28. Trillo’s interest in Latin American culture and community activism is highlighted in her documentation of migration movements.

It was back in 2020 when MCCC Galleries Director, Patrick Rodgers, was first introduced to Trillo’s work while preparing an exhibit for the Tri-State Artists Equity Association. One particular photograph stood out to him that was awarded first place by juror Bridgette Mayer, who owns the Bridgette Mayer Gallery in Philadelphia.

“She had submitted two terrific photographs from her recent series La Caravana Del Diablo, taken during her recent travels with a migrant caravan from Honduras through Guatemala to the Mexican border,” Rodgers said. “One dramatic photograph showed a huge group of people crossing a river, and in the foreground is a man either about to pick up or having just handed off a baby to a woman. The whole photo has an anxious movement to it that's really striking, but that baby, for me, was the emotional focal point of the piece.”

Trillo’s photographs, some of which have been included in the permanent collection at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, illustrate her natural skill and talent with a camera, along with her instinct for what and where to photograph.

“She has a genuine sense of purpose about her work and a desire to give voice to people who are often demonized or ignored,” Rodgers said. “She traveled with migrants throughout Central America and Mexico just to document and tell their stories—she walked or ran, ate, and slept among them, talked with them, collected contact information, and then later kept in touch with them. Her work goes further into the realm of social justice and activism than most documentary photographers by far.”

Trillo’s large-scale photographs serve as a window to the communities in which she immerses herself through her work.

“You can walk through the gallery and peer in on these experiences she had with refugees and asylum-seekers,” Rodgers said. “Most of the work is in black and white, but there's one image in color—the largest photo in the exhibit--that shows a group of Mexican National Guards confronting the caravan she is documenting.”

In the photograph there is a juxtaposition of the migrants raising their hands in the air while the guards raise batons, and above it all is an unfurled rainbow Pride flag carried by one of the migrants.

“It's another incredible moment captured by Ada Trillo, and it really draws your eye through the space of the gallery,” he said.

Rodgers said that Trillo’s work successfully humanizes human rights issues facing Latin American culture.

“Mainstream media portrays migrant caravans with alarm as a mass movement of people, but Ada delves into the stories of as many people as she can to get at the crucial questions at the root of migration,” he said. “She portrays a lot of families and children and learns about the economic and educational reasons those families are emigrating, as well as what kind of work they want to do in the U.S. or what kind of educational opportunities they hope to have.”

Trillo illustrates how disability plays a role in the decision to emigrate, as well as how the dangerous journey on foot or by train can disable many migrants.

“She also shows the hopes and opportunities for LGBTQ+ migrants who are fleeing discrimination and violence,” Rodgers said.

In addition to being a photographer, Trillo is a teacher and speaker who has a passion for sharing her knowledge of photography with others, especially young people.

"At La Casa de Migrantes in Juarez, Mexico, Ada teaches a photography workshop every summer to kids who are awaiting asylum applications,” Rodgers said.

Montgomery County Community College’s Pottstown Campus art gallery, housed in North Hall (16 E. High Street, Pottstown), is located in a 19th-century building that served as a brewery, mattress factory, knitting mill, and shoe polish factory. The art gallery exhibits unique local collections and the work of area artists in a variety of media. Exhibits change throughout the year. MCCC’s Pottstown gallery is free and open to the public Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Free parking is available at MCCC’s South Hall, 101 College Drive, a short distance from the gallery.

More about Ada Trillo

Ada Trillo is a documentary photographer based in Philadelphia, PA and Juarez, Mexico. Trillo holds degrees from the Istituto Marangoni in Milan and Drexel University in Philadelphia. Trillo’s work is concerned with human rights issues facing Latin American culture. Trillo has documented forced prostitution in Juarez and the recent migrant caravan attempting to reach the U.S. Most recently she documented the conflict in Ukraine. Trillo has exhibited internationally at The Photo Meetings in Luxembourg, The Passion for Freedom Art Festival in London and at the Anya and Andrew Shiva Gallery at the John Jay College in New York. She is a recipient of the Leeway Foundation’s Art and Change Grant, and in 2019 was named the Visual Artist-in-Residence for Fleisher Art Memorial in Philadelphia. Her work is included in the permanent collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art