Commissioner Higgins Unveils the “SHOT: We the Mothers Miami” Exhibition Against Gun Violence

Left to Right: Commissioner Eileen Higgins speaks at the unveiling of “SHOT: We the Mothers Miami” exhibition.
(Photos by: District 5/Miami-Dade County)

MIAMI-DADE – Today, May 8, Miami-Dade County Commissioner Eileen Higgins, City of Miami Commissioner Sabina Covo, Miami-Dade School Board Member Lucia Baez-Geller, and Chief Alfredo “Freddy” Ramirez III, Director of Miami-Dade Police Department, along with acclaimed photographer Kathy Shorr, and mothers impacted by gun violence, unveiled the “SHOT: We the Mothers Miami” exhibition surrounding Southside Park at 140 SW 11th St., Miami, FL 33130.

SHOT: We the Mothers (SWTM) Miami, partially funded by the Office of Commissioner Higgins, is the second project on the SHOT platform and features 44 mothers from Miami-Dade County who have lost children to gun violence. The exhibition features large-scale vinyl prints of portraits, objects connected to the deceased, and the unfiltered words of the mothers who have experienced this tragedy firsthand.

"I am deeply humbled to stand alongside the brave mothers who have had to endure the unfathomable pain of losing their children to senseless gun violence," said Commissioner Higgins. “This exhibition is an emotional representation of the devastating impact of gun violence on families and communities and serves as a powerful call to action for all of us to come together and demand change and prevent further loss of life."

This emotional and powerful exhibition, which launched its first rendition in 2021 with mothers from Philadelphia, aims to raise awareness about gun violence and its devastating impact on our communities. The exhibit will be up until July 31, 2023. The next phase of SWTM will be a website where mothers from across America who have lost a child to gun violence can share their self-portraits, uniting together to bring awareness to the collateral damage of gun violence.

“The collateral damage of gun violence lasts a lifetime. It doesn’t end with the shooting. For the survivors, it is only the beginning,” said Kathy Shorr, the project’s curator.

“I commend Commissioner Higgins and Kathy Shorr for their efforts to bring awareness of gun violence to our community. This is the true meaning of collaboration, and we will continue to embrace those mothers whose hearts were shattered. I encourage everyone to get involved in their community and come together in the fight against crime,” said Chief Ramirez.

For more information about the “SHOT: We the Mothers” project, please visit https://kathyshorr.com/SHOT_Mothers_all.html.