Dean Palazzo, AEIVA Director Lisa Tamiris Becker, Renee Kemp-Rotan and the Honorable Mayor William A. Bell of the City of Birmingham stand with foot soldiers who marched in Selma on Bloody Sunday as well as representatives of Peter Magubane and Spider Martin, including Martin’s daughter Tracy.The Abroms-Engel Institute for the Visual Arts was the site of a number of moving events that brought UAB and surrounding community together to explore topics of racial discrimination, voting rights, and equality.
Through the power of two events: Stand in Unity, a candlelight vigil honoring the nine victims of the shootings at Emmanuel A.M.E. church in Charleston, S.C., and The Freedom Exhibition: Two Countries One Struggle, presented by the City of Birmingham in partnership with AEIVA, people were able to see how artists had responded to and commented on these issues in their own work.
The Freedom Exhibition featured the work of the late Birmingham-based photojournalist Spider Martin alongside images by South African photographer Peter Magubane. It opened at the same time as two other powerful exhibits: Willie Cole: Transformations and FOCUS I: Identified.
AEIVA also opened The Right to Decide, featuring posters by internationally known illustrators marking the 50th anniversary of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. The Right to Decide includes the work of Art and Art History faculty member Erin Wright and runs through November 14.
