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CREATIVE STATEMENT

   I first discovered my passion for social issues when I learned how research could influence my work. I developed a piece about rape culture and upon further inquiry, I learned there were misconceptions about this phenomenon I could convey through art.

 

    My practice began with a focus on gender issues like female objectification, sourced from frustration with my experiences as a woman and the way sexual assault victims are discredited in our society. My work about victim-blame investigates why blame happens, and how our current rape culture came to exist. In my work I aim to show victims’ feelings, to cause the viewer to reconsider victim-blaming and show the unseen emotional and psychological effects of sexual assault. Throughout these pieces, I found how my work could help others. I organized a workshop with survivors, and this showed me I not only want to make art that addresses social issues but works to change them.

 

    I had this opportunity when I partnered with students at a Detroit high school where we worked to address a social issue in their community. Here I learned I was interested in engaging with issues beyond gender alone. My peers and I identified the issue of cultural exploitation, whereby White-owned footwear companies market shoes to Black communities. We developed a footwear brand to propel Black youth from consumers to creators and designed custom slides. Simultaneously, I had the opportunity to work with incarcerated individuals at a local jail and engage in an art workshop. I became passionate about advocating for injustice, and this inspired my most recent work—a documentary about unjust practices of the justice system.

 

    I believe art and design can serve as a vehicle for social change, and mutual collaboration with community members is crucial for this practice. I also believe in the ability to engage with multiple social issues. I see myself contributing to the community at large by practicing socially engaged art within marginalized communities such as incarcerated individuals or low-income communities, and I envision collectively designing resources or products to meet community needs. Ultimately, I aim to combine my socially engaged art with policy advocacy on issues of gender, criminal justice reform, and other systemic injustices, to implement change on a comprehensive scale.

EXHIBITIONS & AWARDS

2019 SAPAC Annual rEVOLUTION Exhibit 

Nelson Scholarship, 2019

Tamer Travel Grant, 2019

2021 Stamps School of Art and Design Undergraduate Juried Exhibition 

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