Avery Williamson | AADL Black Lives Matter Muralist

VISUAL ART INTERVIEW

Avery Williamson | AADL BLM mural

Avery Williamson (b. 1990)
Cleo, Tidal and Delores 1948
averywilliamson.com
Instagram: @aisforavery

Following the Ann Arbor District Library's Call for Artists in 2020, AADL installed a Black Lives Matter mural on the south side of Library Lane on Friday, May 21 featuring the works of eight artists.

Below is our interview with muralist and AADL Black Lives Matter Mural Artistic Coordinator Avery Williamson.

Curtis Wallace | AADL Black Lives Matter Muralist

VISUAL ART INTERVIEW

Curtis Wallace | AADL BLM mural

Curtis Wallace
Instagram: @cw_creatyv | @BeCreativeYpsi
Facebook: @curtis.creatyv @BeCreativeYpsi

Following the Ann Arbor District Library's Call for Artists in 2020, AADL installed a Black Lives Matter mural on the south side of Library Lane on Friday, May 21 featuring the works of eight artists.

Below is our interview with muralist Curtis Wallace.

Jaleesa Rosario Turner | AADL Black Lives Matter Muralist

VISUAL ART INTERVIEW

Jaleesa Turner | AADL BLM mural

Jaleesa Rosario Turner (b. 1989)
jaleesarosario.com
jahjahjah.com
Twitter: @jaleesarosario
Instagram: @_by_jah

Following the Ann Arbor District Library's Call for Artists in 2020, AADL installed a Black Lives Matter mural on the south side of Library Lane on Friday, May 21 featuring the works of eight artists.

Below is our interview with muralist Jaleesa Rosario Turner.

Rachel Elise Thomas | AADL Black Lives Matter Muralist

VISUAL ART INTERVIEW

Rachel Elise Thomas | AADL BLM mural

Rachel Elise Thomas (b. 1988)
ABUNDANCE
rachelelisethomas.com
Instagram: @implied_wisdom

Following the Ann Arbor District Library's Call for Artists in 2020, AADL installed a Black Lives Matter mural on the south side of Library Lane on Friday, May 21 featuring the works of eight artists.

Below is our interview with muralist Rachel Elise Thomas.

John Rodriguez | AADL Black Lives Matter Muralist

VISUAL ART INTERVIEW

John Rodriguez | AADL BLM mural

John Rodriguez (b. 1977)
Blessing

jrvag.com
Instagram: @bruinprophet
Facebook: @jrartsite

Following the Ann Arbor District Library's Call for Artists in 2020, AADL installed a Black Lives Matter mural on the south side of Library Lane on Friday, May 21 featuring the works of eight artists.

Below is our interview with muralist John Rodriguez.

Demario Dotson | AADL Black Lives Matter Muralist

VISUAL ART INTERVIEW

Demario Dotson | AADL BLM mural

Demario Dotson (b. 1994)
Sandra Blands With Capes (Protecting the Black Youth From the Police)
sbwithcapes.com
Instagram: @DemarioDotson 

Following the Ann Arbor District Library's Call for Artists in 2020, AADL installed a Black Lives Matter mural on the south side of Library Lane on Friday, May 21 featuring the works of eight artists.

Below is our interview with muralist Demario Dotson.

Quadre Curry | AADL Black Lives Matter Muralist

VISUAL ART INTERVIEW

Quadre Curry | AADL BLM mural

Quadre Curry (b. 1997)
quadrecurry.com
Instagram: @reddq.art

Following the Ann Arbor District Library's Call for Artists in 2020, AADL installed a Black Lives Matter mural on the south side of Library Lane on Friday, May 21 featuring the works of eight artists.

Below is our interview with muralist Quadre Curry.

T'onna Clemons | AADL Black Lives Matter Muralist

VISUAL ART INTERVIEW

T'onna Clemons | AADL BLM mural

T'onna Clemons (b. 1987)
tonnaclemons.com
Instagram: @comicbookartist

Following the Ann Arbor District Library's Call for Artists in 2020, AADL installed a Black Lives Matter mural on the south side of Library Lane on Friday, May 21 featuring the works of eight artists.

Below is our interview with muralist T'onna Clemons.

Ten works from "Please Stand By: The 2021 Stamps School Senior Exhibition" that show the collection's creative range

VISUAL ART

Please Stand By: The 2021 Stamps School Senior Exhibition banner

All 91 University of Michigan students featured in Please Stand By: The 2021 Stamps School Senior Exhibition deserve every ray of light that can cut through the darkness of the past 15 months.

You can be their sunshine and check out all the projects by the BA, BFA, and Interarts Performance students from the Stamps School's Integrative Project and Senior Studio over at stampsgrads.org.

But here are 10 pieces of art, animation, books, product designs, software, and songs that caught my eyes and ears as I perused the work of these fresh talents.

Riverside Arts Center’s "Present: An Online Exhibit" offers an egalitarian collection of creative endeavors

VISUAL ART REVIEW

Marlow Jiggaletti, Sleep Paralysis

Marlow Jiggaletti, Sleep Paralysis, photo manipulation

Art is essential, whether or not it is created for public display.

All art, whether fine art or craft, is worthy of representation.

Though these two statements seem straightforward, they might be considered controversial in the fine art universe.

Riverside Arts Center’s recent online exhibit, Present, pushes the boundaries of public art in online spaces by eliminating the jurying process and allowing anyone to submit artwork with the expectation that it will be placed in the show. The exhibit's homepage displays a gallery of thumbnail images with brief descriptions of the submissions, which range from regular exhibitors in the Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor area to crafts and Lego projects made among groups of family members. This egalitarian approach offers a fresh perspective on what it means to create art, who this art is for, and what value creativity has when the world no longer resembles the one we know. 

Riverside Art Center’s call for submissions asks for work regardless of whether or not the creator is a working artist, and this cosmopolitan approach yielded eclectic results that give viewers a chance to see what creative projects community members have produced during an unprecedented time. The call for art reads: