June - July 2021 | Art and Activism

Fifteen Indianapolis-based artists will explore the role that art plays in driving awareness of complex social issues such as police brutality, gentrification, migrant workers' rights, climate change, fast fashion, and other causes that are significant to them. The show, co-curated by artists Matthew Cooper and Israel Solomon and Gallery 924 staff, was inspired by the visual conversations that artists created on downtown Indianapolis' boarded-up storefronts as part of the 2020 Murals for Racial Justice project.

Artists include Jaidly Anciso, Anthony Armstrong, Shadé "$hady" Bell, Regina Bunting, Constance Collins, Matthew Cooper, Clayton Hamilton, Angelita Hampton, Savannah Jacob, Nasreen Khan, Gaby Mojica, WildStyle Paschall, Anthony Radford, Rebecca Robinson, and Israel Solomon.

Art and Activism is part of a collaboration among the Arts Council, the Indiana State Museum, and the Indianapolis Public Library to honor the one-year anniversary of Murals for Racial Justice. 

This exhibition contains sensitive and graphic content that some viewers might find difficult, and potentially disturbing. 

SPECIAL EVENTS & OTHER PROGRAMS 

June 5-Sept. 6: RESPONSE: Images and Sounds of a Movement, an Indiana State Museum exhibition featuring six murals that were created last summer in downtown Indianapolis as part of an immediate response to the worldwide protests against police brutality. 

June 26: Panel discussion featuring RESPONSE: Images and Sounds of a Movement artists Gary Gee, Elija Norwood, Gentry Parker, and Mechi Shakur, and moderated by Danicia Monét, Murals for Racial Justice project manager and the Programs & Facilities Director for the Purdue Black Cultural Center, from 1-2 p.m. in the Great Hall at the Indiana State Museum. 

The Arts Council thanks Glick Philanthropies for its generous support of the Murals for Racial Justice project, which includes the partnership with the Indianapolis Public Library and the June 12 panel discussion.

Image: Israel Solomon, American Duality (detail), 2020, Acrylic on canvas