The Art of Democracy
The project aims to create a dialogue around our democracy as a whole and the current political climate, particularly leading up to the presidential election on November 5. These four exhibitions, located across Western PA, tackle contemporary issues of reproductive freedom, the impact of gun violence, and the growing role of artists in uniting community voices for change. Each features the work of living, regional artists thoughtfully curated into displays and public programs to foster discussion, connection, and contemplation, ultimately demonstrating what a healthy democracy should look like
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The Art of Democracy: Whose Choice?
The Art of Democracy: Whose Choice? urges us to mobilize for reproductive freedom with a shared understanding that barriers to full spectrum healthcare disproportionately impact our most marginalized communities. Access to judgment-free reproductive healthcare affects – not just birthing people but – everybody.
Curator: Michaela Blanc
Opening: Thursday, September 12 from 6:30–8:30pm; announcement of other public programs to come
Exhibition Dates: September 12 through October 13, 2024
Venue: Louis L. Manderino Library, PennWest California (250 University Avenue, California, PA 15419)
The Art of Democracy: Resiliency Impacted
Don’t you deserve to be safe? The Art of Democracy: Resiliency Impacted will examine conditions within Western PA that lead to a culture of gun ownership, the measurable loss of life created by firearm violence, and how we can challenge the system that impedes progress in creating safe conditions for everyone regardless of opinion of gun ownership.
Curator: Jillian Daniels
Opening: Thursday, September 26 from 6:30–8:30pm; announcement of other public programs to come
Exhibition Dates: September 26 through October 20, 2024
Venue: The Fox Clark Gallery (33 N 6th Street, Indiana, PA 15701)
The Art of Democracy
The Art of Democracy demonstrates the integral role that artists play in a healthy democracy. The exhibition looks to explore ways that artists and activists are using their voices, working in direct collaboration with communities, and harnessing collective power to move us towards a more just and liberated world.
Curator: Natalie Sweet
Opening: Thursday, October 10 from 6:30–8:30pm; announcement of other public programs to come
Exhibition Dates: October 10 through November 2, 2024
Venue: Brew House Arts (711 S. 21st Street #210, Pittsburgh, PA 15203)
The exhibition series is the result of a partnership between Keystone Progress Education Fund and Casey Droege Cultural Productions. For The Art of Democracy: The Impact of Gun Violence On Our Communities, additional partnership support comes from CeaseFire PA.
About the curators:
Natalie Sweet (she/her) is a cultural worker, curator, and community builder based in Pittsburgh, PA. She currently serves as Executive Director of Brew House Arts, a non-profit art center that hosts community driven fine art exhibitions, artist studios, and residency programs. Natalie’s work explores how inclusive spaces and networks can connect people to the arts, their surroundings, and to each other. Natalie earned a degree in the History of Art and Architecture at the University of Pittsburgh in 2009. Since then, she has collaborated with various organizations such as Contemporary Craft, Headcount, the Equity Impact Center, and Associated Artists of Pittsburgh.
Michaela Blanc is the Wikimedian in Residence at the Pérez Art Museum Miami and a Regional Ambassador at Art+Feminism. Previously, she was a Curatorial Fellow at the MassArt Art Museum (MAAM), a guest curator for the SMFA at Tufts on view at Tufts University Art Galleries in Medford and MassArt Low Residence MFA programs, a juror and Graduate Curatorial Fellow at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and a curatorial intern at the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston. Blanc is an alumna of C& Critical Writing Workshop, Dallas (2023). She holds an MA in Museum Studies/Museum Education from Tufts University and a BA in Art History from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro.
Jillian Daniels is a designer, curator, and mixed media artist interrogating social/political conditions and identity through historical narratives, visual culture, storytelling, and systems design. Jillian is currently the Deputy Director of Operations at Silver Eye Center for Photography and holds a BS in Industrial Design Studies + Systems Design and BA Studio Art from SUNY University at Buffalo and is a Ronald E. McNair Scholar.