On Thursday, May 31, there will be an Opening Reception from 6 – 8 p.m. in the Walsh Gallery. Prior to the reception, join us for a panel discussion, "Art Making for Social Change," from 5 – 6 p.m. with curator Jonathan Ferrara and other exhibiting artists, moderated by Helen Klisser During.
The ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ÊÓƵÎÞÏÞÖƹۿ´ Art Museum (FUAM), in partnership with # UN LOAD and the Guns In The Hands of Artists Foundation , is proud to announce the opening of the exhibition #UNLOAD : Guns in the Hands of Artists . Each piece in the exhibition was created using decommissioned guns that were taken off the streets of New Orleans via a gun buyback program and distributed to internationally-known artists. Painters, sculptors, photographers, poets, and other artists used these decommissioned firearms to create works of art that address the complex issue of guns and gun violence.
The exhibition originated in mid-1990s New Orleans, where a spiking murder rate led artist Brian Borrello to conceive of the first iteration of the Guns in the Hands of Artists exhibition. His idea was to bring discussions about the role of guns and gun violence in our society into the realm of art -- art as the language for dialogue and possibly change -- without the often partisan and polarized politics that surround the issue. Borrello and gallery owner Jonathan Ferrara mounted the initial exhibition at Positive Space The Gallery in September 1996, in the Lower Garden District of New Orleans. In 2014, Ferrara revisited the exhibition, featuring new work by internationally recognized artists. Through his or her own medium, each artist has used decommissioned firearms to create works that express a thought, make a statement, open a discussion, and stimulate thinking about guns in our culture.
This exhibition is a part of # UN LOAD , an arts-based initiative in Connecticut that seeks to drive consensus around the divisive issue of gun violence. Visit the unloadusa.org website for more information about the many events taking place across the state in 2018; each event is designed to engage our communities in vibrant dialogue about this important issue.
In collaboration with the Guns in the Hands of Artists Foundation, # UN LOAD , and the Quick Center for the Arts, FUAM hopes to engage the community in taking a hard look at the serious public health consequences of gun violence in America. Please check the event website often as additional programming is in the works. The museum hopes that the exhibition and the presented in conjunction with it will offer unique opportunities to engage in the conversation about guns in our society, using art as the catalyst for dialogue.
