NYC Community Mural Organization in conversation with Angela Davis

Thursday, April 6, 2017

6:30PM - 8:30PM

The Graduate Center, CUNY
Proshansky Auditorium
365 5th Avenue
New York, NY 10016

NEW YORK, NEW YORK  -  Groundswell, New York City's premier mural-making organization, presents "Groundswell At 20: Freedom is a Constant Struggle, with Angela Davis." On April 6, from 6:30PM - 8:30PM, Groundswell will join author, activist, and scholar Angela Davis, together with a distinguished panel of Groundswell-affiliated artists and academics for a conversation about youth incarceration and making art inside the walls of Rikers Island. 

This event celebrates Groundswell's 20th anniversary with an in-depth look at its ongoing work creating public art on Rikers Island with New York City youth imprisoned there. 

The program begins with a talk by Angela Davis exploring the topic, "Freedom is a Constant Struggle." With Davis's observations about racial inequality and injustice as a frame, the panel will look closely at Groundswell's Rikers Island murals, the processes used to create them, and their implications for understanding justice and the institutions of incarceration. 

Panelists: Angela Davis, Robyne Walker Murphy (Groundswell Executive Director), Michelle Fine (Distinguished Professor, CUNY Graduate Center), Patrick Dougher (Groundswell Program Director), Crystal Clarity (Artist), Christopher Cardinale (Artist).

The program includes a special presentation to Groundswell Founder Amy Sananman. Groundswell is New York City's leading community public art organization.

Tickets for this event are sold out, but a livestream will be available at this link. Photos of the discussion will be available upon request after the event. 

This event is made possible by generous donors to Groundswell and is sponsored, in part, by The Public Science Project of the CUNY Graduate Center. BRIC Arts Media is media sponsor.

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Groundswell
Groundswell, New York City's leading organization dedicated to community public art, brings together youth, artists, and community partners, to make public art that advances social change, for a more just and equitable world. Our projects beautify neighborhoods, engage youth in societal and personal transformation, and give expression to ideas and perspectives that are underrepresented in the public dialogue. www.groundswell.nyc

Angela Davis

Activist, author, and scholar Angela Davis has written nine books and has lectured throughout the United States and much of the world. In recent years, a persistent theme of her work has been the range of social problems associated with incarceration and the generalized criminalization of those communities that are most affected by poverty and racial discrimination. She draws upon her own experiences in the early 1970s as a person who spent eighteen months in jail and on trial after being placed on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted List.