Art Show Explores Intersection of Politics, Art

By Areebah Bharmal

Reporting Texas

Paintings and photographs lined the walls of the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs lobby Feb. 18 for the “Art is Activism: Visions of Liberation art show.” The event explored the intersection of politics and art and touched on themes such as freedom and liberation.

“Today is about letting artists have that space to talk about what they’re going through and really advocate for their communities and advocate for what they believe in,” said Ashley Alvarado, one of the student organizers of the event.

The art show was held as part of the annual Barbara Jordan National Forum, which is organized each year by student chairs. This year’s co-chairs were Alvarado, Ali Altahafi and Kennedy Simon.

The show was held in collaboration with Of Color, a local nonprofit that supports artists of color.

“Activism comes in many, many ways,” said Rudi Dizer, Of Color co-founder and chair. “When you have your own tools or you have your own gifts, you use your tools and gifts for whatever purposes you believe in.”

Whitney Hamilton, Of Color resident curator and vice chair, curated the show.

“You’re essentially translating … the art that artists have to someone who may not even be familiar with art exhibits and art programs, so you’re making it translatable and approaching for them,” Hamilton said.

Hailey Gearo, one of the 20 artists featured at the show, chose pieces that embody her joy.

“I think activism is like a need and a must,” Gearo said. “It’s kind of like a … way that Black people operate 90% of the time, but our joy is something that I feel like is often neglected in that, and our joy is also part of that activism.”

Gearo said her art reflects how she is feeling and is “a diary entry every single time.”

Melissa Fontenette-Mitchell, a local photographer, had two pieces on display at the show. One was titled, “Liberation Echos,” and honored Harriet Tubman.

“The theme was legacy,” Fontenette-Mitchell said. “She not only has a legacy of resilience and dignity, but she also has a history of perseverance. And those three characteristics sort of resonate still in today’s time.”

For the 29th annual Barbara Jordan Forum this year, the co-chairs expanded the forum from its usual two events to seven.

“The students this year really wanted to build out the forum into something new, especially going into next year being our 30th, so they really pushed the envelope this year about the events we offer and how we do it,” said G. Christopher Cutkelvin, the forum’s adviser and LBJ School director of student access and civic education.

Some of the other events included a health fair and a master class based on Barbara Jordan’s syllabus from her time as a professor at the University of Texas at Austin.

“We’re kind of going back in time and getting people to experience what it was like to be her student,” Alvarado said.

Alvarado said Barbara Jordan herself was an advocate for art, and that was one of the inspirations behind the Art is Activism show.

Alvarado sees art as an important part of society.

“In my personal opinion, art is what makes life worth living,” she said.