I Shocked the Sheriff
In 2015, my CCAP and Girls Action League students created posters for the direct action lead by SOUL, Chicago. Below are a select few.
In the past few years, there has been a tremendous upsurge in awareness around extrajudicial killings of Black people and other people of color by police. This has been marked by mass protests, mobilizations, and urban rebellions. These protests, and urban rebellions can be attributed to police harassment, violence against and killings of Black people, mass incarceration, among other issues that afflicted and continue to afflict Black people.
On Saturday, October 24, 2015, we have a unique opportunity to take this movement to the next level by directly confronting an organization that is at the forefront of the criminalization and police killings of Black people in this country: the International Association of Chiefs of Police or IACP. The IACP is a 100-plus year old organization that bills itself as a group that helps spearhead breakthrough technologies and philosophies used by police departments across the globe. According to the IACP, one of their main goals is to “encourage adherence of all police officers to high professional standards of performance and conduct.” We say they have failed miserably at this goal when it comes to policing in Black communities.
In the past few years, there has been a tremendous upsurge in awareness around extrajudicial killings of Black people and other people of color by police. This has been marked by mass protests, mobilizations, and urban rebellions. These protests, and urban rebellions can be attributed to police harassment, violence against and killings of Black people, mass incarceration, among other issues that afflicted and continue to afflict Black people.
On Saturday, October 24, 2015, we have a unique opportunity to take this movement to the next level by directly confronting an organization that is at the forefront of the criminalization and police killings of Black people in this country: the International Association of Chiefs of Police or IACP. The IACP is a 100-plus year old organization that bills itself as a group that helps spearhead breakthrough technologies and philosophies used by police departments across the globe. According to the IACP, one of their main goals is to “encourage adherence of all police officers to high professional standards of performance and conduct.” We say they have failed miserably at this goal when it comes to policing in Black communities.
Breathing In City Clouds
A collaborative project with the youth of Chicago's Bridgeport community (Girls Action League) that puts art into action by using multimedia works to engage conversation in the neighborhoods about the air we breathe.
Using basic hand papermaking techniques to create recycled paper, we have made journals, zines and "protective mask." We set-up a "public service stand" in high traffic area in Bridgeport, where we handed out the zines to educate people about the health effects of our neighboring coal-fired power plants. The gas masks were used to create a body of documentation of the youth making and wearing the masks in our community. The documentation was presented as large scale photographs and included in an artist book and zine filled with personal stories from residents of Bridgeport, as well as facts, information and various bits I have collected through my research and involvement with the clean power coalition. Lastly, I created a site-specific installation made of handmade paper "currents," some of which were left outside to collect dirty air for one month around the Bridgeport and Pilsen neighborhoods.
2012
Using basic hand papermaking techniques to create recycled paper, we have made journals, zines and "protective mask." We set-up a "public service stand" in high traffic area in Bridgeport, where we handed out the zines to educate people about the health effects of our neighboring coal-fired power plants. The gas masks were used to create a body of documentation of the youth making and wearing the masks in our community. The documentation was presented as large scale photographs and included in an artist book and zine filled with personal stories from residents of Bridgeport, as well as facts, information and various bits I have collected through my research and involvement with the clean power coalition. Lastly, I created a site-specific installation made of handmade paper "currents," some of which were left outside to collect dirty air for one month around the Bridgeport and Pilsen neighborhoods.
2012