More than 25 people will showcase their art in the “Artistic Protest: Representations of Race, Violence, Injustice and Inequality” event on Tuesday, Nov. 29 at 6 p.m., in Cone University Center, McKnight Hall. The event is free and open to the public.
UNC Charlotte students and faculty members and community members will come together for this event, said Danielle Boaz, assistant professor of Africana studies. The Artistic Protest will feature live performances, including songs, spoken word selections and a dance. There will be screenings of short films and a display of about 20 visual art pieces.
Artistic Protest is an outgrowth of the course “Racial Violence: Colonial Times to Present.” Boaz envisioned the protest initially as a showcase for the exceptional final projects for the course, which she taught for the first time last year.
“After the shooting of Keith Lamont Scott and the protests that erupted across the city in September, it seemed even more important to provide this outlet for artists to express their frustrations related to systemic injustices and inequalities,” she said.
In the call for submissions, the Department of Africana Studies sought entries that addressed topics of race, violence, injustice and inequality from any region of the world and from any time period.
“We have received submissions related to segregation, poverty, immigration and many other injustices occurring both domestically and in other parts of the globe,” Boaz said. “The diversity of the backgrounds of the artists and the topics they address are key incentives to attend this event. I hope that this Artistic Protest will raise awareness and encourage collaborations between different groups of artists and activists.”
The event seeks to illustrate how art can be a tool for education, she said. Short background statements from the participating artists will be included; these statements will explain the artists’ emotions or events that inspired their works.
Boaz is an assistant professor in the Africana Studies Department. She brings a combination of expertise in law, legal history and Africana studies to the department. She has a Ph.D. in history with a specialization in Africa, the African Diaspora and the Caribbean from the University of Miami, a J.D. with a concentration in international law from the University of Toledo, and a LL.M. in Intercultural Human Rights from St. Thomas University. She is also a licensed attorney in the State of Florida and practiced law in Miami for several years before transitioning to a career in academia.
Boaz’s research focuses on the structural racism ingrained in domestic and international mechanisms protecting civil, political, social and cultural rights. The bulk of her work addresses the legal proscription of African cultural practices in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and the modern day impact of those laws on public perceptions of these practices.
Photo: “Anti-Miscegenation,” by student Abigale Godwin, will be among the works displayed during the Artistic Protest.
