“Installation 1: Race and Policing” exhibit to open at Doubting Thomas Art Gallery Feb. 9

Installation 1: Race and Policing
Doubting Thomas Art Gallery
856 Jefferson Ave, Cleveland, OH 44113

February 9 – 24, 2018
Opening February 9, 2018 6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Gallery open Saturdays from 2:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. during the month of February

During Black History Month, we are encouraged to explore the richness and complexity of the African American experience. For this year’s Black History Month, Doubting Thomas Gallery will house an installation that takes a deeper look at one social issue that some would argue has plagued the black community since the era of slavery. This issue has been expressed through outraged voices to demand accountability from local police departments and the federal government. This issue has also been defined by boisterous calls to maintain certain imperatives and protections for officers engaged in the dangerous field of policing.

The piece, Installation 1: Race and Policing, presents 50 silhouettes on tar paper that represent 50 unarmed African-Americans who were killed by police in 2017.  The data is provided by http://www.mappingpoliceviolence.org. The organization gathers and shares crowdsourced data to track people who are killed by police officers. The Department of Justice does not officially track this data, nor does any other federal agency. The life-sized pieces allow visitors to occupy the same space for reflection and reverence. Visual artist James Jenkins contributes mixed media pieces that speak to the spirit of the installation. Collective Action Towards Social Justice members collaborated and produced the silhouettes, and originally ran the installation at a social justice art event at the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences at Case Western Reserve University*.

As you celebrate Black History Month this year by engaging with the joy, beauty and strength of Pan-African culture, take a moment to visit Doubting Thomas Gallery to acknowledge the presence of state violence in African American life. Within the context of the many triumphs, this exhibit seeks to reveal the ongoing resilience of a community that has overcome 400 years of state sponsored repression.