Talk: Surveillance and Black Activism
Featured images
Jamal Cyrus , Cultr-Ops, 2008/2015. Graphite powder on paper. Framed: 79 9/16 × 63 1/8 in. (202.1 × 160.3 cm). Collection Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, gift of Marilyn and Larry Fields in honor of Naomi Beckwith, 2018.32
Courtesy of Inman Gallery, Houston Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago
Stan Douglas, Evening, 1994
In 2017, a leaked FBI report identified “Black Identity Extremists” as a security threat, indicating an uptick in surveillance of black activist organizations. In relationship to the exhibition Direct Message: Art, Language, and Power, a group of artists and activists consider the state of contemporary activism and public speech, as well as the implications of government surveillance.
The panel includes artist Jamal Cyrus, activist Brandi Collins-Dexter of Color Of Change, and Nusrat J. Choudhury, Deputy Director of the ACLU Racial Justice Program, and is moderated by exhibition curator Grace Deveney.
MCA Talks highlight cutting-edge thinking and contemporary art practices across disciplines and are organized by Curator January Parkos Arnall and Assistant Curator Christy LeMaster, with the Performance and Public Practice team.
Funding
This program is made possible by the Gloria Brackstone Solow and Eugene A. Solow, MD, Memorial Lecture Series.