Artists For Action. In Support of the Black Lives Matter Movement.

Artists for Action.
In Support of the Black Lives Matter Movement.

June 26th, 2020 — July 25th, 2020

Artists for Action features over 20 artists from The Alice Wilds and the community, contributing work and coming together in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. As we continue to witness police brutality toward the Black community and recognize the realities of systemic racism across our nation, we want to take action. 100 percent of the proceeds from this exhibition will be donated to organizations that have been selected by the artists to forward this movement.

-The Alice Wilds

Click on a caption below to view more details on the selected organization where 100% of the proceeds from that work will go to.

Click here to view a virtual tour of Artists for Action. A big thank to Josh Hintz of Var Gallery for making this virtual tour a reality!

Interested in purchasing or making a donation? Send us a message or stop in!

The gallery will be open on Fridays and Saturdays from 11-5PM. Please note that we are practicing social distancing guidelines.

Tom Bamberger

Tom Bamberger
Flowers (May 20, Barberry), 2020
Archival pigment print
30 x 17 inches

All proceeds from the sale of this work will be donated to:
The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc.

From the website for the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc.:
“The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. is America’s premier legal organization fighting for racial justice. Through litigation, advocacy, and public education, LDF seeks structural changes to expand democracy, eliminate disparities, and achieve racial justice in a society that fulfills the promise of equality for all Americans. LDF also defends the gains and protections won over the past 75 years of civil rights struggle and works to improve the quality and diversity of judicial and executive appointments.”

Tara Bogart

Tara Bogart
Nadya, from the series A Modern Hair Study, 2015
Archival pigment ink print
20 x 16 inches
Edition 1 of 9

All proceeds from the sale of this work will be donated to:
BEAM: Black Emotional and Mental Health Collective

From the website for BEAM: Black Emotional and Mental Health Collective:
“WHO WE ARE: We are a collective of advocates, yoga teachers, artists, therapists, lawyers, religious leaders, teachers, psychologists and activists committed to the emotional/mental health and healing of Black communities.

OUR VISION: We envision a world where there are no barriers to Black healing.

OUR MISSION: BEAM is a 501 (c)(3) organization. Our mission is to remove the barriers that Black people experience getting access to or staying connected with emotional health care and healing. We do this through education, training, advocacy and the creative arts.”

Tyanna Buie

Tyanna Buie
Mugshot Profile #2, 2016
Unique screenprint with hand-applied ink and charcoal on paper
74 x 38 inches

All proceeds from the sale of this work will be donated to:
Restoring Justice

From the website for Restoring Justice:
“Restoring Justice is the only 501(c)(3) NPO operating in Texas to assist marginalized communities with holistic legal support, bail bonds, social services and trauma care. We believe holistic, loving, and client-centered representation by the local community is the only solution to mass incarceration.

We fight for the right to prevent unnecessary and wrongful incarceration while changing fear-based perceptions in our system to love-based hope. We provide individualized care to lift people out of our system, while simultaneously reforming our system to one of restorative justice, based in making communities whole again.”

Santiago Cucullu

Santiago Cucullu
1-2 or Half, 2020
Ink on paper
24 x 19 inches

Santiago Cucullu
Deutsche Bank, 2020
Ink on paper
24 x 19 inches

Santiago Cucullu
Sine Qua Non, 2020
Ink on paper
24 x 19 inches

Santiago Cucullu
The Bustle aka Chinatown, 2020
Ink on paper
24 x 19 inches

Santiago Cucullu
The Doorbell, 2020
Ink on paper
24 x 19 inches

All proceeds from the sale of this work will be donated to:
The ACLU Campaign for Smart Justice

From the website for ACLU’s Campaign for Smart Justice:
“The ACLU Campaign for Smart Justice is an unprecedented, multiyear effort to reduce the U.S. jail and prison population by 50% and to combat racial disparities in the criminal justice system.”

Nick Drain

Nick Drain
A Body of Water and Grease, 2019
Archival pigment print
(image): 8 x 12 inches; (sheet): 11 x 15 inches
Presented as an open edition during the run of this exhibition

All proceeds from the sale(s) of this work will be donated to:
For the Gworls’ Rent and Gender-Affirming Surgery Fund

About Gworls’ Rent and Gender-Affirming Surgery Fund:
“For the Gworls’ Rent and Gender-Affirming Surgery Fund accepts applications from Black, transgender people nationwide. With this fund, we actively fight to reduce homelessness rates in the Black transgender community, as well as lower the risk for affirmative surgeries being done in ways that put them at greater health risks. Now more than ever, this work is especially important considering that many Black transgender people are being laid off in absurdly high numbers, which is only exacerbating the already terrible conditions that Black transgender people generally live in.”

Steven D. Foster

Steven D. Foster
Steve Lacy Series (Circle and Fence), 1977
Archival pigment print; printed by the artist, 2019
(image): 13 3/4 x 13 3/4 inches; (sheet): 16 x 20 inches
Edition 1 of 5

All proceeds from the sale(s) of this work will be donated to:
BLOC: Black Leaders Organizing for Communities

From the website for BLOC: Black Leaders Organizing for Communities:
“What We Believe In: The concerns and needs of the communities we represent always come first. Community-based organizing and face-to-face conversations lead to change. So, we listen in order to build transformational, not transactional, relationships.

We are uniters, working to lift up the Black citizens, leaders, and businesses of our community. We are transparent in our work to ensure the community we advocate for can hold us accountable.

Our Goals:
1) Invest in our community and engage citizens to build long-term political power.
2) Through coordinated political action ensure a high quality of life and access to economic opportunity for members of the Black community in Milwaukee and throughout Wisconsin.
3) Empower Black leaders with the tools, training, and resources needed to organize and guarantee that their issues, concerns, and values are represented at all levels of government.”

Luis Rafael Gálvez

Luis Rafael Gálvez
Girl with Shadow, 2018
Oil on canvas
28 x 32 inches

All proceeds from the sale of this work will be donated to:
BEAM: Black Emotional and Mental Health Collective

From the website for BEAM: Black Emotional and Mental Health Collective:
“WHO WE ARE: We are a collective of advocates, yoga teachers, artists, therapists, lawyers, religious leaders, teachers, psychologists and activists committed to the emotional/mental health and healing of Black communities.

OUR VISION: We envision a world where there are no barriers to Black healing.

OUR MISSION: BEAM is a 501 (c)(3) organization. Our mission is to remove the barriers that Black people experience getting access to or staying connected with emotional health care and healing. We do this through education, training, advocacy and the creative arts.”

Grant Gill

Grant Gill
Mood Hag Stone 3, 2020
Brick, spray paint, and thermochromic ink
4.5 x 2 1/4 x 3 ¼ inches

Grant Gill
Mood Hag Stone 2, 2020
Brick, spray paint, and thermochromic ink
7.75 x 2 x 3 ¾ inches

Grant Gill
Mood Hag Stone 1, 2019
Brick, spray paint, and thermochromic ink
3 1/2 x 2 x 3 ¾ inches

Grant Gill
Mood Hag Stone 4, 2020
Brick, spray paint, and thermochromic ink
3 ¾ x 2 x 3 ¼ inches

Statement by Grant Gill:

Over the last couple of years, I started sporting two mood rings, one on each ring finger. I began doing this around the time when Trump’s reign start posing a threat to the queer community’s livelihood. It started as a cheeky joke to let the heteros know I was extra emotional, though it became very symbolic for the frustrations and anger I began to feel. At the same time, I started creating mood boulders, made from faux landscaping rocks and treated to react just like a mood ring would. They were used as chairs and tables, plinths and accents, reacting to both touch and sunlight. I expanded my materials, playing with rubber toads, cock rings, and most recently hag stones—ones that had washed up on the shores of Lake Michigan, smoothed out by the tides. These stones initially excited me because they were the ideal in shape, nodding towards a ring-like form. Hag stones are heavy with lore, and I saw their potential in forming windows or portals peering into theoretical, unknown spaces. The specific stones I was working with were made of brick material tying them so much to the region they were collected in.  

I can’t help but to consider these bricks within a contemporary context. In the wake of the protests and initial rioting, especially during pride month, I have found myself defending the actions of the black community, denouncing the cops, and expressing the necessity for change. I have been reflecting a lot on Pride—a celebration of the Stonewall Riots of 1969 that consisted of extreme actions that led to extreme change. Bricks (among other objects) were thrown at the police during a raid, incited after years of harassment, brutality and terror the cops enacted on the queer community.  These riots were led by trans women of color, and their uprising at Stonewall led to gay liberation which further led to so many of the LGBTQIA+ rights we have today. 

It was important to me to support a local Milwaukee organization, and also honor black trans women in the community. I am selling four of my mood hag stones in support of Milwaukee’s Sisters Helping Each other Battle Adversity (SHEBA). SHEBA is a group of 20 African American male-to-female transgender women that meets biweekly for leadership development, health promotion activities, and social support. Leadership development methods include education and training on small group facilitation, HIV prevention outreach and advocacy training, communication skills, and self-confidence training.

Black Trans Lives Matter.

All proceeds from the sale of this work will be donated to:
SHEBA: Sisters Helping Each other Battle Adversity

Donations go through: Diverse and Resilient

In the “In Honor Of” field earmark the donation to specifically be filtered into SHEBA.

From the Diverse & Resilient website featuring Cultivating Leaders, SHEBA:
“Sisters Helping Each other Battle Adversity (SHEBA) is a group of 20 African American male-to-female transgender women that meets biweekly for leadership development, health promotion activities, and social support. Leadership development methods include education and training on small group facilitation, HIV prevention outreach and advocacy training, communication skills, and self-confidence training.
Diverse & Resilient facilitates biweekly social and educational discussion groups including educational presentations and discussion questions to support health education and promotion.
In addition to group support, this project provides advocacy and support for individual transitions by assisting each SHEBA member to create self-empowerment goals regarding their health choices, their employment, and the transgender female community.”

Sean Heiser

Sean Heiser
Untitled (Garden on 9th), 2018
Acrylic and flashe on linen
19 x 26 inches

All proceeds from the sale of this work will be donated to:
Leaders Igniting Transformation (LIT)

From the website of Leaders Igniting Transformation (LIT):
“Leaders Igniting Transformation (LIT) is a youth of color led independent nonprofit. Founded in 2017, LIT engages in values-based issue and electoral organizing, direct action, advocacy for public policy, and leadership development. On campuses and communities in Milwaukee’s key geographies, we organize young people to build independent political power for social, racial and economic justice.

We are organizing a political and cultural bloc of young people to define the future of our communities through public policy and cultural change. We believe progressive grassroots political power is most effectively built with a two-pronged strategy – growing resilience and excellence of youth of color, and engaging youth in a full spectrum of year-round civic engagement.

Rather than focusing solely on issues or elections, we are building an organization with a continuously expanding base of young people through both issue-organizing and civic engagement. Our complete engagement accelerates leadership development, growth in organizational capacity, public narrative development and political education, and has allowed us to win several victories in a short period of time.”

Jon Horvath

Jon Horvath
Tchula, Mississippi (Church Window), 2020
Archival pigment print
15 x 12 inches
Open edition

Jon Horvath
Tchula, Mississippi (Church Door), 2020
Archival pigment print
15 x 12 inches
Open edition

All proceeds from the sale(s) of this work will go to the buyers choice of one of the following three organizations:

Alice’s Garden Urban Farm

From the website of Alice’s Garden Urban Farm:
“Alice’s Garden provides models of regenerative farming, community cultural development, and economic agricultural enterprises for the global landscape. We recognize the cultivating, preparing, and preserving of food, and food traditions, as cultural arts to be reclaimed and celebrated fully in urban agriculture.”

BEAM: Black Emotional and Mental Health Collective

From the website for BEAM: Black Emotional and Mental Health Collective:
“WHO WE ARE: We are a collective of advocates, yoga teachers, artists, therapists, lawyers, religious leaders, teachers, psychologists and activists committed to the emotional/mental health and healing of Black communities.

OUR VISION: We envision a world where there are no barriers to Black healing.

OUR MISSION: BEAM is a 501 (c)(3) organization. Our mission is to remove the barriers that Black people experience getting access to or staying connected with emotional health care and healing. We do this through education, training, advocacy and the creative arts.”

BLOC: Black Leaders Organizing for Communities

From the website for BLOC: Black Leaders Organizing for Communities:
“What We Believe In: The concerns and needs of the communities we represent always come first. Community-based organizing and face-to-face conversations lead to change. So, we listen in order to build transformational, not transactional, relationships.

We are uniters, working to lift up the Black citizens, leaders, and businesses of our community. We are transparent in our work to ensure the community we advocate for can hold us accountable.

Our Goals:
1) Invest in our community and engage citizens to build long-term political power.

2) Through coordinated political action ensure a high quality of life and access to economic opportunity for members of the Black community in Milwaukee and throughout Wisconsin.

3) Empower Black leaders with the tools, training, and resources needed to organize and guarantee that their issues, concerns, and values are represented at all levels of government.”

Sonal Jain

Sonal Jain
Untitled, 2020
Gouache on paper
22 x 30 inches

Statement by Sonal Jain:
“Art institutions, museums, and galleries need to collaborate, represent, and invest in Black artists. The
Black Trans Femmes in the Arts (BTFA) strives to connect the community of black trans women and
non-binary femmes in the arts. A donation to this collective is only a small step in the right direction.
There is much more work to be done to not only support these artists and communities but also make
necessary changes for them to thrive.”

“The mission of the BTFA Collective is to connect the community of black trans women and
non-binary femmes in the arts & to build power among ourselves.”

All proceeds from the sale of this work will be donated to:
Black Trans Femmes in the Arts (BTFA)

Michael Lagerman

Michael Lagerman
Equivalents (After Stieglitz), 2020
Archival pigment print
20 x 16 inches
Presented as an open edition during the run of this exhibition

All proceeds from the sale(s) of this work will be donated to:
SHEBA: Sisters Helping Each other Battle Adversity

Donations go through: Diverse and Resilient

In the “In Honor Of” field earmark the donation to specifically be filtered into SHEBA.

From the Diverse & Resilient website featuring Cultivating Leaders, SHEBA:
“Sisters Helping Each other Battle Adversity (SHEBA) is a group of 20 African American male-to-female transgender women that meets biweekly for leadership development, health promotion activities, and social support. Leadership development methods include education and training on small group facilitation, HIV prevention outreach and advocacy training, communication skills, and self-confidence training.
Diverse & Resilient facilitates biweekly social and educational discussion groups including educational presentations and discussion questions to support health education and promotion.
In addition to group support, this project provides advocacy and support for individual transitions by assisting each SHEBA member to create self-empowerment goals regarding their health choices, their employment, and the transgender female community.”

Colin Matthes

Colin Matthes
Potential Banquet if We Were Not All in Quarantine #4, 2020
Graphite on paper
10 x 13 ½ inches

Colin Matthes
Potential Banquet if We Were Not All in Quarantine #5, 2020
Graphite on paper
10 ½ x 13 ½ inches

All proceeds from the sale(s) of this work will be donated to:
BLOC: Black Leaders Organizing for Communities

From the website for BLOC: Black Leaders Organizing for Communities:
“What We Believe In: The concerns and needs of the communities we represent always come first. Community-based organizing and face-to-face conversations lead to change. So, we listen in order to build transformational, not transactional, relationships.

We are uniters, working to lift up the Black citizens, leaders, and businesses of our community. We are transparent in our work to ensure the community we advocate for can hold us accountable.

Our Goals:
1) Invest in our community and engage citizens to build long-term political power.

2) Through coordinated political action ensure a high quality of life and access to economic opportunity for members of the Black community in Milwaukee and throughout Wisconsin.

3) Empower Black leaders with the tools, training, and resources needed to organize and guarantee that their issues, concerns, and values are represented at all levels of government.”

Daniel McCullough

Daniel McCullough
Untitled (Wave), 2020
Archival Pigment Print mounted on Dibond
15 x 15 inches
Edition of 5

All proceeds from the sale of this work will be donated to:
BEAM: Black Emotional and Mental Health Collective

From the website for BEAM: Black Emotional and Mental Health Collective:
“WHO WE ARE: We are a collective of advocates, yoga teachers, artists, therapists, lawyers, religious leaders, teachers, psychologists and activists committed to the emotional/mental health and healing of Black communities.

OUR VISION: We envision a world where there are no barriers to Black healing.

OUR MISSION: BEAM is a 501 (c)(3) organization. Our mission is to remove the barriers that Black people experience getting access to or staying connected with emotional health care and healing. We do this through education, training, advocacy and the creative arts.”

Jessica Meuninck-Ganger

Jessica Meuninck-Ganger
Meters, 2018
Archival ink on Rives BFK
(image): 7 x 9 1/2 inches; (framed): 9 x 13 inches

Jessica Meuninck-Ganger
Clapboards and Shake, 2018
Archival ink on Rives BFK
(image): 7 x 9 1/2 inches; (framed): 9 x 13 inches

Jessica Meuninck-Ganger
Outbuild, 2020
Archival ink on Rives BFK
(sheet): 7 x 10 inches; (framed): 9 x 13 inches

Jessica Meuninck-Ganger
Upbuild, 2020
Archival ink on Rives BFK
(sheet): 7 x 10 inches; (framed): 9 x 13 inches

All proceeds from the sale(s) of this work will be donated to:
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Peck School of the Arts’ scholarship for under-represented students
Designation (Special Instructions): These funds, in honor of the Black Lives Matter Movement are donated to the Peck School of the Arts Diversity Scholarship in support of Black students.

* Those who are interested in supporting this scholarship and designation may contact Ana Conant (conant@uwm.edu | 414-229-3902)

“The selection criteria for all UWM scholarships are in accordance with the fund purpose, which is dictated by the donor’s wishes in a fund agreement.  Dean (Scott Emmons) of the Peck School of the Arts initiated the diversity scholarship at this time in support of Black students, who are underrepresented at UWM.  This affirms UWM’s commitment to supporting and protecting our diversity, equity and inclusivity.”

Thomas C. Meuninck

Thomas C. Meuninck
Vessel, 2017
Porcelain with black underglaze
2 x 4 (diam.) inches

Thomas C. Meuninck
Enclosed vessel, 2017
Porcelain with black underglaze
2 x 4 (diam.) inches

Thomas C. Meuninck
Enclosed vessel with bird, 2017
Glazed porcelain
3 x 4 ½ (diam.) inches

Thomas C. Meuninck
Enclosed vessel with frog, 2017
Porcelain with crackle glaze
3 x 5 (diam.) inches

Statement from the Family of Thomas C. Meuninck:
Thomas C. Meuninck (1943 – 2019) earned a BS in Art Education at Ball State University in Indiana and began teaching Art and Ceramics at Union City High School, Union City, Indiana in 1965. In 1966 he began teaching Ceramics at Washington High School located in South Bend, Indiana, where he taught until he retired. His commitments to his students, the Westside community, and public education were unmatched. He was an advocate for protecting Civil Liberties, rallied for education, and promoted racial justice. His family has asked that contributions from the sales of his work go to the ACLU’s Smart Justice program:

All proceeds from the sale(s) of this work will be donated to:
ACLU’s Campaign for Smart Justice

From the website for ACLU’s Campaign for Smart Justice:
“Black people are being murdered and brutalized by police with near impunity. Act with us to end police brutality, demand racial justice, and defend our right to protest. Your donation will fuel our legal battles and urgent advocacy efforts.”

Kevin J. Miyazaki

Kevin J. Miyazaki
Persons, 2019
Two-sided printed poster
21 ½ x 14 inches
Open edition; available on-site only

Statement by Kevin J. Miyazaki:
“During World War ll, 120,000 Japanese Americans were forced to leave their homes and businesses on the West Coast of the U.S. and sent to live in inland concentration camps. Like my father and his siblings, more than two-thirds of those incarcerated were American-born citizens. One side of this poster contains the official government language posted in public areas in California, Oregon and Washington State. The government text is replaced on the opposite side with 527 surnames of Japanese Americans sent to the camps in 1942.

The ACLU fought on behalf of the Japanese Americans and handled two principal cases before the Supreme Court, Hirabayashi v. United States (1943) and Korematsu v. United States (1944), which challenged the legality of the mass incarceration.”

All proceeds from the sale(s) of this work will be donated to:
ACLU of Wisconsin

Keith Nelson

Keith Nelson
Untitled (pillow), 2019
Cotton and polyester on panel
34 x 20 x 1 inches

All proceeds from the sale of this work will be donated to:
BLOC: Black Leaders Organizing for Communities

From the website for BLOC: Black Leaders Organizing for Communities:
“What We Believe In: The concerns and needs of the communities we represent always come first. Community-based organizing and face-to-face conversations lead to change. So, we listen in order to build transformational, not transactional, relationships.

We are uniters, working to lift up the Black citizens, leaders, and businesses of our community. We are transparent in our work to ensure the community we advocate for can hold us accountable.

Our Goals:
1) Invest in our community and engage citizens to build long-term political power.

2) Through coordinated political action ensure a high quality of life and access to economic opportunity for members of the Black community in Milwaukee and throughout Wisconsin.

3) Empower Black leaders with the tools, training, and resources needed to organize and guarantee that their issues, concerns, and values are represented at all levels of government.”

Kyle Seis

Kyle Seis
Returning, 2019
Archival pigment print
20 x 16 inches
Edition of 5

All proceeds from the sale of this work will be donated to:
BLOC: Black Leaders Organizing for Communities

From the website for BLOC: Black Leaders Organizing for Communities:
“What We Believe In: The concerns and needs of the communities we represent always come first. Community-based organizing and face-to-face conversations lead to change. So, we listen in order to build transformational, not transactional, relationships.

We are uniters, working to lift up the Black citizens, leaders, and businesses of our community. We are transparent in our work to ensure the community we advocate for can hold us accountable.

Our Goals:
1) Invest in our community and engage citizens to build long-term political power.

2) Through coordinated political action ensure a high quality of life and access to economic opportunity for members of the Black community in Milwaukee and throughout Wisconsin.

3) Empower Black leaders with the tools, training, and resources needed to organize and guarantee that their issues, concerns, and values are represented at all levels of government.”

Leslie Vansen

Leslie Vansen
Postscript, 1998
Acrylic on two sheets of paperboard
(each): 10 1/2 by 8 inches; (overall): 10 1/2 by 16 inches

All proceeds from the sale of this work will be donated to:
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Peck School of the Arts’ scholarship for under-represented students
Designation (Special Instructions): These funds, in honor of the Black Lives Matter Movement are donated to the Peck School of the Arts Diversity Scholarship in support of Black students.

* Those who are interested in supporting this scholarship and designation may contact Ana Conant (conant@uwm.edu | 414-229-3902)

“The selection criteria for all UWM scholarships are in accordance with the fund purpose, which is dictated by the donor’s wishes in a fund agreement. Dean (Scott Emmons) of the Peck School of the Arts initiated the diversity scholarship at this time in support of Black students, who are underrepresented at UWM. This affirms UWM’s commitment to supporting and protecting our diversity, equity and inclusivity.”

Shane Walsh

Shane Walsh
Untitled (0620), 2020
Acrylic and oil on canvas
37 x 27 inches

All proceeds from the sale of this work will be donated to:
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Peck School of the Arts’ scholarship for under-represented students
Designation (Special Instructions): These funds, in honor of the Black Lives Matter Movement are donated to the Peck School of the Arts Diversity Scholarship in support of Black students.

* Those who are interested in supporting this scholarship and designation may contact Ana Conant (conant@uwm.edu | 414-229-3902)

“The selection criteria for all UWM scholarships are in accordance with the fund purpose, which is dictated by the donor’s wishes in a fund agreement. Dean (Scott Emmons) of the Peck School of the Arts initiated the diversity scholarship at this time in support of Black students, who are underrepresented at UWM. This affirms UWM’s commitment to supporting and protecting our diversity, equity and inclusivity.”

Julie Weber

Julie Weber
Remnants B-side #11, 2017
Gelatin silver photogram
(Print): 11 x 8 1/2 inches
Edition: 1 of 1 (+ 1 AP)

All proceeds from the sale of this work will be donated to:
Loveland Foundation

From the website for the Loveland Foundation:
“The Loveland Foundation was established in 2018 by Rachel Cargle in response to her widely successful birthday wish fundraiser, Therapy for Black Women and Girls. Her enthusiastic social media community raised over $250,000, which made it possible for Black women and girls nationally to receive therapy support. Black women and girls deserve access to healing, and that healing will impact generations.

The Loveland Foundation is the official continuation of this effort to bring opportunity and healing to communities of color, and especially to Black women and girls. Through fellowships, residency programs, listening tours, and more, ultimately we hope to contribute to both the empowerment and the liberation of the communities we serve.”

Wendel A. White

Wendel A. White
Schools for the Colored, Hygenic School, Steelton Pennsylvania, 2009
Archival pigment print, printed by the artist, 2010
(image): 13 ¼ x 20 inches; (sheet) 20 x 24 inches
Edition 2 of 15

All proceeds from the sale of this work will be donated to:
Leaders Igniting Transformation (LIT)

From the website of Leaders Igniting Transformation (LIT):

“Leaders Igniting Transformation (LIT) is a youth of color led independent nonprofit. Founded in 2017, LIT engages in values-based issue and electoral organizing, direct action, advocacy for public policy, and leadership development. On campuses and communities in Milwaukee’s key geographies, we organize young people to build independent political power for social, racial and economic justice.

We are organizing a political and cultural bloc of young people to define the future of our communities through public policy and cultural change. We believe progressive grassroots political power is most effectively built with a two-pronged strategy – growing resilience and excellence of youth of color, and engaging youth in a full spectrum of year-round civic engagement.

Rather than focusing solely on issues or elections, we are building an organization with a continuously expanding base of young people through both issue-organizing and civic engagement. Our complete engagement accelerates leadership development, growth in organizational capacity, public narrative development and political education, and has allowed us to win several victories in a short period of time.”

Jenna Youngwood

Jenna Youngwood
Parking Lot, 2018
Acrylic on canvas
38 x 32 inches

All proceeds from the sale of this work will be donated to:
Freedom, Inc.

From the website for Freedom, Inc:
“Freedom, Inc. engages low- to no-income communities of color in Dane County, WI. Our mission is to achieve social justice through coupling direct services with leadership development and community organizing.
The three pillars of our work are Gender Justice, Queer Justice, and Black and Southeast Asian Liberation. Yet it is impossible for us to disentangle these pillars from one another, because we strive to bring an intersectional lens to all of our work that understands all of these concerns as deeply interconnected.”

Tom Zust

Tom Zust
Jiv and Stray, Clarendon Station, 2012
Archival pigment print
17 by 11 inches
Edition 1 of 15

Statement by Tom Zust:
“Jiv and I have been friends for twenty years, the majority of our lives.

A raw nerve was struck here in Australia as headlines appeared describing how the protests over the death of George Floyd began gaining momentum in the USA. Our thoughts turned to our indigenous Australians, their overrepresentation in our prison system and to the sorrowful statistics of indigenous deaths in police custody. The Black Lives Matter movement holds a mirror to the rest of the world and as Australia reflects on its history and the progresses we’ve made for equality, we must still acknowledge that systemic racism, sexism and homophobia remains tenaciously rooted in our society and culture.

When The Alice Wilds invited me to participate in “Artists for Action” my thoughts turned to finding a topically appropriate work to donate.

I made Jiv and Stray, Clarendon Station in 2012. I was finishing my final year at Uni and working nights stocking shelves at a neighbourhood grocery store. Jiv would often meet me after work to simply drive toward some distraction, smoke cigarettes and engage in conversation that meandered from mundane to the meaning of life. As two closeted gay boys on the brink of adulthood, and Jiv being an Indigenous Australian, we would talk about what our future might hold and practiced finding pride in the things that felt like strikes against us. On one such night we were joined by a stray cat, drawn to us no doubt by our fellowship of finding a place to belong.

I kindly ask that any proceeds received from my contribution be directed to “Black Rainbow”, a non-profit social enterprise that is 100% Indigenous owned and operated. Black Rainbow is premised by advocacy, leadership, and solutions which identify and address social and cultural determinants of wellbeing as they relate to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians whom identify as LGBTQI.”

All proceeds from the sale of this work will be donated to:
Black Rainbow