"SAY THEIR NAMES"
July/August 2020
The following text was copied from ABC 13 News
An art installation at an Asheville church focuses on racial justice in the United States.
The display at The Oak Street Gallery lists the names of more than 60 Black Americans killed by police officers and the circumstances surrounding their deaths.
Project coordinator Mandy Kjellstrom said the artists wanted to do something productive during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We were all sitting at home, confined at home because of the coronavirus, and this gave us something positive we can do to help the situation our world finds itself in right now," Kjellstrom said said.
“SAY THEIR NAMES” is the first in a two-part series. It utilizes calligraphic art in a weathergram format which are brown paper bags, biodegradable over time, with either prose or poetry on them. The exhibit runs through July 31.
A second installation, which will run Aug. 6-29, will depict Black experiences.
The two exhibits were conceived by members of First Congregational United Church of Christ in the hope of sharing the trials and tribulations, some lethal, of being Black in the United States.
The work in both exhibits was done by a number of members of The Mountain Scribes, Western North Carolina’s calligraphy guild, as well as by members of the Carolina Lettering Arts Society. And many members of the church contributed time and artistic talent to each of the shows.
FCUCC is honored to announce that it will be sharing the first of two racial justice installations with the YMI Cultural Center of Asheville. The YMI Cultural Center, located at 20-44 Eagle Street in Asheville, is arguably one of the nation’s oldest African American Institutions. Existing for 125 years, the YMI Cultural Center elevates Black communities through cultural, economic and leadership development activities while preserving the heritage of African Americans in Asheville and Buncombe County.
Mandy Kjellstrom working in cooperation with Tonia Plummer, Executive Assistant at YMI have arranged the SAY THEIR NAMES installation to move to the YMI Cultural Center and exhibit in their gallery beginning August 7th and running through the month.
The installation, a collection of weathergrams, depicting the names of over 60 Black persons killed in encounters with police is a powerful and timely exhibit and will continue to display at the FCUCC through July 31st at which time it will relocate to the YMI Cultural Center for the August 7th opening.
Young Men's Institute 1893 Young Men's Institute today
Mandy Kjellstrom working in cooperation with Tonia Plummer, Executive Assistant at YMI have arranged the SAY THEIR NAMES installation to move to the YMI Cultural Center and exhibit in their gallery beginning August 7th and running through the month.
The installation, a collection of weathergrams, depicting the names of over 60 Black persons killed in encounters with police is a powerful and timely exhibit and will continue to display at the FCUCC through July 31st at which time it will relocate to the YMI Cultural Center for the August 7th opening.
Young Men's Institute 1893 Young Men's Institute today
