Woodland exhibition to honor Black women
Art. In. Action will open Thursday
Woodland’s Barn Gallery will host a new art exhibition that will focus on honoring Black women heroes, civil rights leaders and women who have been killed by the police.
Art. In. Action. is a collaboration within YoloArts and Women in Leadership, Davis. It will feature paintings, watercolors and screen prints. The exhibition opens Thursday.
Pieces featured in Art. In. Action. were originally exhibited on a freeway overpass in Davis, during For Our Mothers, For Our Sisters, For Our Daughters, a protest march held last August. The artwork also commemorates the 55th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act and the centennial of the passage of the 19th amendment, which gave the women the right to vote.
Women honored in this special collection of protest art include: Harriet Tubman, Breonna Taylor, Kamala Harris and Rosa Parks among others. The exhibition will also present video footage of the march.
Artists Hisani Stenson, Stephanie Thayer, Kate Mellon Anibaba, Seana Burke, Danielle Fodor, Sasha Santer Hill, Nelson Loskamp, Anya McCann, Aislinn Murray, Jennifer Nachmanoff, Gilda Posada, Ruth Santer and Eden Sunday will be featured as well.
Additionally, “Project: Hope” and “Black Lives Matter,” two books of drawings by a collaboration of students in the Department of Design at UC Davis will also be included in this exhibition.
The books were created by 43 students in three Design 15: Form and Color courses facilitated by professor Melissa Chandon and artist Harold Linde.
“We need to put faces to the names of Black women who have been victims of police brutality as well as Black women who led the civil rights movement and brought the Voting Rights Act into being. This is why this installation at the Barn Gallery is so important,” stated Dzokerayi Minya, cofounder of Woman in Leadership, Davis. “We hope families and the community will see this art and take the conversation home about how past and current laws affect Black families and in particular Black women.”
A virtual preview of the exhibition will air March 11 at noon on Facebook
and Instagram, @YoloartsCA. Minya, exhibition artists and local activists will talk about the artwork and the organization’s mission to empower Black, Indigenous People of Color women leaders and bring awareness to systemic barriers facing woman and girls of color in the community. The recorded preview will be available on yoloarts.org and social media throughout the exhibition’s run. Exhibition artwork can also be viewed online at https://yoloarts.org/online-galleries/#current.
“I first saw this artwork displayed on a freeway overpass in Davis during the march last August and was reminded of the power of art to move and educate people,” stated Janice Purnell, creative director at YoloArts. “This exhibition offers an extended opportunity for everyone to see these works up close, learn more about the stories and bravery of these women, and gain a deeper understanding of the goals and vision of Women In Leadership, Davis.”
On May 12, Minya and guest artists will talk about the role of art and stories in our social movements at the monthly Knowledge @ Noon series. Art. In. Action. closes on June 19 with a Juneteenth Freedom Celebration planned from 12:30-3 pm at The Barn Gallery.
The Barn Gallery is open Thursday afternoons 2:30-5 p.m. and two Saturday afternoons monthly; eight people are allowed in the gallery at a time. Face coverings and social distancing is required. For more information contact ya@yoloarts.org.