Last night I attended The Contemporary's event, Talking Shop: Art + Activism, which brought together Eddie Conway, a Baltimorean and Black Panther, and Cuban installation and performance artist Tania Brugera. The panel was moderated by JHU Writing Seminars alum Lionel Foster.
"Both of you fought massive systems — the state," Foster said, bringing the two into conversation.
Brugera's work blurs the line between art and activism. "Art is a rehearsal of a desired reality," she told the audience. Recently Brugera leaned from the window of her Havana home, bullhorn in hand, to read from Hannah Arendt's The Origins of Totalitarianism. Take a look at the photo here to see how the city decided to respond (they took jackhammers to her street, as to literally overpower her voice).
"Both of you fought massive systems — the state," Foster said, bringing the two into conversation.
Brugera's work blurs the line between art and activism. "Art is a rehearsal of a desired reality," she told the audience. Recently Brugera leaned from the window of her Havana home, bullhorn in hand, to read from Hannah Arendt's The Origins of Totalitarianism. Take a look at the photo here to see how the city decided to respond (they took jackhammers to her street, as to literally overpower her voice).
This morning, I found myself walking the fine line between educator and activist. I found myself in a new classroom, subbing one of Writers in Baltimore Schools's weekly writing groups, and I noticed this poster on the door.
Imagine studying Algebra I beneath such a poster. The classroom teacher is white, and the student population is predominately black. I wanted to ditch my lesson plan and have the students respond to the poster. But I was the substitute for creative writing, a class I'm grateful that the school has opted to offer. The classroom teacher could have returned to his room at any point.
That said, I won't be letting go of this image anytime soon. When some of these young writers attend WBS's summer camp in August, I want to talk to them. I want to know what it feels like to have no choice but to learn beneath such blatant racism. I want to give these students a free and open space to write about their desired realities.
Patrice Hutton
That said, I won't be letting go of this image anytime soon. When some of these young writers attend WBS's summer camp in August, I want to talk to them. I want to know what it feels like to have no choice but to learn beneath such blatant racism. I want to give these students a free and open space to write about their desired realities.
Patrice Hutton
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