Since October 2021, our public ofrenda has been on display at Union Station as part of the I am land exhibition. The exhibit also features seven other public artworks centred around the theme of loss, and it proposes art-making as a way to work through grief, suggesting that collective conversations about grief, mourning, and absence in public spaces can lead to healing.
With deep shock and sadness we learned of the recent defacement of fellow artist Anique Jordan’s Mas' at 94 Chestnut, one of the exhibition’s other artworks, which the perpetrator vandalized by drawing a slave collar around the the neck of the photographic installation’s main subject, Gloria C. Swain. As part of the BIPOC creative community, we acknowledge the violence and deep pain caused by the vandal’s actions and stand in solidarity with Anique Jordan, Gloria C. Swain, and the city’s Black community. We cannot and will not tolerate racism or violence in any form. We also insist that artists must be able to work in spaces that allow them to feel safe in their creative expressions, confident as well that the institutions and establishments that house it will protect their artwork and ensure that the public likewise engages respectfully with it. We must never forget that having these artworks on show is, after all, a great privilege and benefit for everyone involved—artists, institutions, and public alike.
We encourage everyone to learn more about what happened and the steps taken by involved parties to rectify the hurt and damage. Let us all also take this opportunity to think more about what each of us can do to help create, support, and advocate for safe, equitable, accessible, and respectful public spaces for everyone.
To learn more about the incident, read the article Art installation at Union Station vandalized with a slave collar drawing
