George Emilio Sanchez and Patty Ortiz
To E Pluribus Unum, With LoveWhat identities win out within us? Within our nation? What must we ask of the past?
This multimedia theatrical work unfolds through a simmering series of dialogues between an Indigenous figure (performed by Sanchez) and various historical icons (also playfully embodied by Sanchez in video form). To Columbus, Lincoln, Ginsburg, Orozco, Jesus—the Indigenous character Nahuavia asks questions American history classes rarely do. What is at the root of racial hierarchy? How is a nation built on the separation of church and state so profoundly tied to religion? What do we mean by a nation of immigrants when the federal government dispossessed those who were already here?
Each historical figure is brought to life through extraordinary costume transformations by Ortiz in a visual spectacle as bold as the questions being asked.
This original interdisciplinary work by Sanchez and Ortiz weaves together personal memory, volunteer interviews, video projections and sculptural installation to reveal the invisible histories that shape who we are as individuals and as a nation.
George Emilio Sanchez is a writer, performer, educator and advocate for Indigenous rights and sovereignty, and was a nominee for the 2025 United States Artist Fellowship. His work sits at the intersection of arts, activism and legal history, exploring Indigenous sovereignty, immigrant identity and the buried histories of American democracy.
He is currently touring with his recent collaborative performance In the Court of the Conqueror, created with visual artist Patty Ortiz, and which premiered at Abrons Arts Center in New York City. He also created the performance series Performing the Constitution, and Bang Bang Gun Amok, a 24-hour performance filibuster on gun violence. Other works include sitting on a park bench while unlocking the cages of captivity, in collaboration with Ortiz, Buried Up To My Neck While Thinking Outside The Box, produced by El Museo del Barrio, and Rosa, commissioned by Dixon Place in response to the September 11 attacks.
Sanchez is Performance Director of Emergenyc, a program exploring the intersection of arts and activism, and teaches at the City University of New York's College of Staten Island. He holds a Masters in Legal Studies in Indigenous Peoples' Law from the University of Oklahoma. He is the recipient of a Fulbright Scholarship, two New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowships, and was named the inaugural recipient of the Keith Haring Fellowship in Arts and Activism by The MacDowell in 2021.
Patty Ortiz is a visual artist working across drawing, painting, installation and video. She has exhibited throughout the US and internationally. Her social practice series Work Won't Kill You (2014-19) was presented throughout the US, including Syracuse, New York, San Diego, California, San Antonio, Texas, Boston, Massachusetts and Boulder, Colorado. She has been collaborating with George Emilio Sanchez, performance artist, since 2021. Their creative collaboration began with In the Court of the Conqueror, which premiered in 2022 and continues to tour throughout the US. In 2022, they also collaborated on unlocking the cages of captivity while sitting on a park bench, a public art installation and durational performance presented at Columbus Park in New York. This work was commissioned and presented by More Art, Inc. In the fall of 2026, they will premiere Reclamation/Acknowledgement at Brooklyn Bridge Park. This new performance is funded in part by the New York State Council on the Arts. Over the years, her work has been recognized by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts Inter Arts Program and the Colorado Council on the Arts. She has also installed permanent public art commissions in Frankfurt, Germany, Boulder and the Denver International Airport.
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