The video is comprised of eight voices: Natalia Arbelaez (Interdisciplinary artist, researcher, and educator), Paul Briggs (Associate Professor of Art Education at MassArt), Adam Chau (Artist and Museum Manager at Hudson Valley MOCA), Jennifer Ling Datchuk (Assistant Professor of Ceramics at Texas State University), April D. Felipe (Artist and community arts educator), Salvador Jiménez-Flores (Artist and Assistant Professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago), Robert Lugo (Artist, social activist, poet and Professor at Temple University), and Yinka Orafidiya (Potter and socially engaged artist).
The work presented in this exhibition speaks of racial identity in both overt and subversive ways; this coding of culture plays to many levels, including a window for the group it represents as well as to those who have no experience in marginalization. Addressing critical societal issues through art making is a challenging task, as the artist must balance aesthetics, formal theory, historic precedent, and an independent voice. Intersectional theory asserts that people are often disadvantaged by multiple sources of oppression: their race, class, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, and other identity markers. The artists in this exhibition come from various backgrounds, ages, and ethnicities. All artists of color, they are active voices in their communities, eager to share their message. While their plights are different and they have faced their own obstacles while navigating the art field, they believe that when people speak up for each other their collective voices are stronger.