Resistance For Freedom
Activism has played a crucial role in fighting for justice and challenging governments, and other oppressive systems to create social change. Protest imagery today poses as tableaux vivant and has normalized protests and public resistance as a way of community outreach. In this exhibition, we broaden the conversation and see that the act of simply existing can be a form of activism while honoring the images made during public actions, protests and other forms of active resistance.
Chris Cook documents the Black Lives Matter Movement in the 2020 uprisings advocating for Black lives. The protests represented essential action citizens felt against incidents of police brutality and all racially motivated violence against Black people. In Cook’s work, you get an inside glimpse of what it was like on the frontlines of the 2020 uprisings and you get a sense of unity amongst the protesters.
Jeremy Dennis’ series Rise, reflects the historical legacy of the Pequot War and the fear of indigenous people in New England and later throughout the United States. The Pequot War: A war that took place between 1636 and 1638 between the Pequot tribe and an alliance of the colonists. The fear Dennis mentions comes from the acknowledgment of their “indigenous peoples” continued presence, not as an extinct people, but as sovereign nations who have witnessed and survived four-hundred years of colonization. Dennis plays with recognizable zombie iconography. ‘Rise’ highlights parallels between the apocalyptic rising undead and popular misinformation of indigenous people.
Francely Flores in the series, Justicia, Dignidad, y Honor Para Los Héroes Obreros documents delivery workers in New York City who have united within the past two years to demand labor protections, rights and justice for all the lives lost while on the job. In 2020 Under the New York State PAUSE executive order, non-essential businesses statewide received orders to close in-person functions. Flores uses her camera as a tool to bring awareness to some important issues. Here she is exposing the grueling working conditions and many dangers faced by delivery workers.
Lawrence Sumulong has been documenting the Marshallese diaspora and its people (Bikinians) in Springdale, Arkansas since 2016, which has become the largest community of Marshallese people in the United States. There are currently only 29 remaining Bikinians out of the original 167 who were forced to leave their homeland in 1946 by the US military. Sumulong’s work shows the struggles and daily lives of both the Bikiniann and general Marshallese population and offers a complicated look into what it means to be assimilated into, excluded from and exploited by American Society.
Resistance for Freedom highlights the efforts of artists of color who have been working within their communities to push back against injustice. While building networks, communities, and platforms, these artists continue the discourse, and prioritize holding space for folks to express and defend their right to exist.
Chris Cook documents the Black Lives Matter Movement in the 2020 uprisings advocating for Black lives. The protests represented essential action citizens felt against incidents of police brutality and all racially motivated violence against Black people. In Cook’s work, you get an inside glimpse of what it was like on the frontlines of the 2020 uprisings and you get a sense of unity amongst the protesters.
Jeremy Dennis’ series Rise, reflects the historical legacy of the Pequot War and the fear of indigenous people in New England and later throughout the United States. The Pequot War: A war that took place between 1636 and 1638 between the Pequot tribe and an alliance of the colonists. The fear Dennis mentions comes from the acknowledgment of their “indigenous peoples” continued presence, not as an extinct people, but as sovereign nations who have witnessed and survived four-hundred years of colonization. Dennis plays with recognizable zombie iconography. ‘Rise’ highlights parallels between the apocalyptic rising undead and popular misinformation of indigenous people.
Francely Flores in the series, Justicia, Dignidad, y Honor Para Los Héroes Obreros documents delivery workers in New York City who have united within the past two years to demand labor protections, rights and justice for all the lives lost while on the job. In 2020 Under the New York State PAUSE executive order, non-essential businesses statewide received orders to close in-person functions. Flores uses her camera as a tool to bring awareness to some important issues. Here she is exposing the grueling working conditions and many dangers faced by delivery workers.
Lawrence Sumulong has been documenting the Marshallese diaspora and its people (Bikinians) in Springdale, Arkansas since 2016, which has become the largest community of Marshallese people in the United States. There are currently only 29 remaining Bikinians out of the original 167 who were forced to leave their homeland in 1946 by the US military. Sumulong’s work shows the struggles and daily lives of both the Bikiniann and general Marshallese population and offers a complicated look into what it means to be assimilated into, excluded from and exploited by American Society.
Resistance for Freedom highlights the efforts of artists of color who have been working within their communities to push back against injustice. While building networks, communities, and platforms, these artists continue the discourse, and prioritize holding space for folks to express and defend their right to exist.
