George Floyd mural outside Cup Foods, Minneapolis, MN, 2020
Photo by Lorie Shaull
In the days after 9/11, the Richard F. Brush Art Gallery put up 15-foot long sheets of blank brown Kraft paper in the “hallway gallery,” a space usually dedicated to more traditional exhibitions of framed artworks. The St. Lawrence community was invited to contribute words, pictures, newspaper and magazine articles, and anything else that mattered to them as a way to reflect upon and share their responses to the attacks. A collaborative “installation” grew over time as a way to help students, faculty, and staff process and document the rapidly changing world around them.
Today, people struggle to make sense of the cruel and brutal killing of George Floyd while in police custody, an event which has sparked protests here in the United States and abroad. The COVID-19 pandemic has also revealed the deep racial and economic disparities that exist in the U.S. health care system for African-American, Latinx, and Native American communities.
In response, the Gallery asked St. Lawrence University students, faculty, staff, and alumni to submit digital artworks or photographs with accompanying statements for an online exhibition to be featured on the Gallery website. We will accept submissions until June 30, 2021.
Participating artists:
- Chris Biles, SLU 2013
- Kalila Calame, SLU 2022
- Bailey (Phelps) Campbell, SLU 2015
- Paul-Hudson Erwin, SLU 2021
- Liza Labarge
- Todd Matte, SLU 2001
- Nadirah Croft, SLU 2021
- Arvie Smith
- Carolyn Twomey