What is Racial Justice, a group art exhibit featuring 20 artists from Evanston and the greater Chicago area, will grace the walls of the Noyes Cultural Center, 927 Noyes, now through November 30.
Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.
The exhibit was curated by Evanston artist Fran Joy.
"I love the act of curating and giving artists a venue and outlet to exhibit and express themselves," Fran told me.
Fran and Angela Allen, cultural arts coordinator at the Noyes Center, discussed a theme for the show, and Fran decided on What is racial justice? for a time such as this.
"I really wanted to see how artists would express themselves," Fran said. "I gave them the main theme and I asked, what does it mean? What is your vision? What do you see or what does it look like? And how do we get there?"
The exhibit includes professional artists, emerging artists, self-taught artists, and student artists.
"It was a rewarding experience to see the powerful dynamics displayed and the fact that the artists are diverse in background, age, training, race and culture," Fran said. "It was an emotional and spiritual high for me as a curator. I have received a lot of great feedback."
Yancey Hughes, an Evanston photographer, submitted a photograph of lifelong civil rights activist and Evanston resident Bennett Johnson.
"The theme question is more relevant now that ever," Yancey said. "My answer is the more things change, the more they remain the same. Every generation is called upon to make justice relevant to their circumstances and daily challenges. Bennett Johnson represents Radical Justice for me. Still standing, sharing his stories and wisdom of what Radical Justice looks like from his 95-year-old eyes. As he said of local reparations, 'its not the best buts it's a start.' In many ways, it's as if we have not moved forward at all. But hearing Bennett's stories, we have come quite far, with far more to go."
Photo cred: Yancey Hughes
Top: works by Candace Hunter, Sarah Kaiser; Bottom: works by Ben Blount, Yancey Hughes.
Fran hopes that the exhibit provides a way for people to plug into their humanity and spirituality.
"We don’t have to go back 50 or hundreds of years to find injustice. There’s injustice going on at the border which is how the Haitian element became a part of the exhibit," she said, referring to the U.S. Border Patrol agents who recently apprehended or expelled nearly 30,000 migrants, the majority of them Haitian nationals sheltering near Del Rio, Texas.
The exhibit opened October 15 and featured guest speaker Evanston resident Jude Laude addressed the Haitian relief efforts and a small silent art auction raised $1,080 for Haitian relief.
Artists showing their work are:
Candace Hunter Stacy Thomas
Tasha nemo Claudia Marter
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