Art’s Publics: A panel with Marshall Shorts, Guisela Latorre, and Columbus-based muralists, moderated by Jody Patterson

Hosted by: Art Unites Cbus at Ohio State, led by the Wexner Center for the Arts and University Libraries

Description: In the wake of the killing of George Floyd in May of 2020 and subsequent protests against police brutality and systemic racism, the Greater Columbus Arts Council (GCAC) and the Columbus Association for the Performing Arts (CAPA) tapped Columbus-based artists to paint murals on the plywood used to cover broken windows at the Ohio Theatre and Arts Council offices. As demonstrations continued over the summer, more than 200 murals were created downtown, in the Short North, and throughout the city with messages in support for Black Lives Matter, including demands for accountability, reform, or complete transformation of policing alongside expressions of grief, hope, and tributes to victims in central Ohio and around the country. 
   
Public art provides necessary visibility and dialogue around urgent issues of our time, and the exhibition of a some of the Art Unites Cbus murals at Ohio State this fall offers the opportunity to examine the role of murals in community activism. Art’s Publics brings together Guisela Latorre, an expert on murals, street art, and art and politics and Professor of Women’s Gender and Sexuality Studies at Ohio State, and Marshall Shorts, an artist, designer, brand strategist and community organizer who has been instrumental in local programs and organizations including Maroon Arts Group, Deliver Black Dreams, Creative Control Fest, PitchBlack, among many others. Part discussion, part town hall, artists and creators of murals during the 2020 uprising are also invited to voice reflections on how the recent socio-political context has affected the prevalence of public art and mural-making in Columbus, and assert what opportunities they would like to see for artists who are engaged in social justice issues in our communities. 

Participants:

Moderated by Jody Patterson

Resource/program is: Virtual Event

Date and time:  November 10th 12:00 – 1:00 PM eastern, 2021

FREE event!

Registration required: https://library.osu.edu/events/arts-publics-a-panel-with-marshall-shorts-guisela-latorre-and-columbus-based-muralists