Opening Reception: We Will Not Be Silent: Art Transforming Rape Culture

Curated by Hannah Brancato

Curatorial Assistants: Rachel Schmid-James and Gabriella “G” Warner

Featuring artists Gloria Garrett, Nickole Keith, Eva Salazar, and Jadelynn St Dre

 “We Will Not Be Silent: Art Transforming Rape Culture” features four artists who, together, form a network of artists and survivors addressing sexual violence. Their sensorial works, made from makeup, salt, clay, wood, fabric, and their own bodies, invite viewers to feel the realities of surviving, and confront the inextricable links between sexual violence, and the institutions that create it. These artists exemplify the ingenuity of resistance. Their work generates possibilities for a future rooted in the experiences and identities of each artist, including as queer, trans, multi-racial, disabled, Indigenous, Mexican, and Black.

Each artist’s work will be displayed alongside their contributions to the Monument Quilt, a project comprised of 3,000 stories from survivors of sexual violence, emblazoned on fabric and displayed in public places. In the spirit of the now concluded Monument Quilt, a series of banners made by UMD students will be on view.

ASL interpretation is available upon request. Please contact Tara Youngborg at tny@umd.edu by two weeks before the event.