12ozProphet

Tomorrow I will be participating in a panel discussion and presentation at Pratt University in Brooklyn. I am honored to be on a panel with such distinguished artists and activists. If you are free come out and check out the event.

Urban Artists and the Politics of Visibility:  A Conversation with Angela Davis
April 23   12:30 to 2:30   Memorial Hall
Pratt Institute, Brooklyn   (G train to Clinton/Washington)
Community Participation Welcome!    Event Free
Contact the Initiative for Art, Community and Social Change at:  (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Panelists:
Angela Davis, Hank Willis Thomas, Dread Scott, Amy Sananman, Alan Ket
One of the unequalled powers of art has always been its ability to speak the unspoken and make visible the invisible—and nowhere is this more true than in New York City.  On April 23rd, 2008, Pratt will host a conversation between Angela Davis and a range of New York-based artists exploring their shared passion for the “politics of visibility.”  Like Davis, these artists defy the separations and silences imposed by institutions like prison, the police, and the military; by categories like race, gender, and class; and by the increasing division between public and private urban space.  They work across genres including film and photography, graffitti and mural painting, theater and spoken word.  And whether through creative content or social context, their work transcends the confines and conventions of the established art world, politicizing the collective act of seeing and making art, and making visible and audible issues and communities long marginalized in the contemporary city.  The event will include short presentations by the artists, an open discussion with Angela Davis, and Q&A from the audience.
DREAD SCOTT   makes revolutionary art to propel history forward.  He first received national attention in 1989 when his art became the center of controversy over its use of the American flag.  He works in a range of media, including installation, photograph, screen printing, video and performance.
AMY SANANMAN is Groundswell Community Mural Project’s founder and Executive Director.  Sananman conceived of Groundswell in 1996 with themission to bring together professional artists, grassroots organizations and communities to create high quality murals in underrepresented neighborhoods.
ALAN KET is a Brooklyn native who became an artist while painting subway trains.  He is an active aerosol artist traveling extensively to document the street art movement as well as to share his work.  Most recently he faced a year long criminal case against the city and lost.  He is now a convicted felon.
HANK WILLIS THOMAS creates works that reflect on the symbols of commodity culture and the impact of violence in African American communities.  He is interested in the subject of perception of reality as it is manipulated in photography and media.