The National Building Museum is preparing to open an exhibition dedicated to “protest art” that emerged this summer as part of the racial justice demonstrations following the police killing of George Floyd.
Titled “Murals That Matter: Activism Through Public Art,” the exhibition promises to present street art created earlier this summer in the District, along with other places, during the demonstrations.
“The murals speak to the impact that art can have on the built environment as well as the nation’s urgent need for dialogue and reflection,” says a statement on the National Building Museum’s website.
The museum teamed up with the P.A.I.N.T.S. (Providing Artists with Inspiration in Non-Traditional Settings) Institute and the DowntownDC Business Improvement District (BID) to commission dozens of murals for boarded-up storefronts.
Murals That Matter is scheduled to open on Friday, August 28, at 9:00 am, coinciding with 2020 March on Washington events, and it will last until late November.
The museum is inviting the public to the opening on August 28, and 29, “for two days of reflection, activism, and enjoyment for everyone.”
During the two days, visitors can meet the artists behind the murals, and watch them while they are working. They can also register to vote or volunteer at a polling place; partake in family-friendly art activities; and enjoy “Good Trouble”–themed cuisine from local vendors.
All attendees are required to wear face masks and maintain social distancing as part of the coronavirus measures introduced by the city and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Participating artists are as follows:
Gallery Place Murals
- Senia Cade (Queens, New York), @senia.cade
- Keiona Clark (Washington, D.C.), @keionaclarkart
- Miguel Davis Jr. (Washington, D.C.), @migueldavisjr
- Denver Smith Foundation (Upper Marlboro, Maryland), @denversmithfoundation
- Dorian Jay Durrah (Washington, D.C.), @jay_durrah
- Good Letters (Washington, D.C.), @goodlettersdesign
- Sonia Jones (Washington, D.C.), @soniajonestheartist
- Nicole Joseph (Washington, D.C.)
- Shawn Perkins (Detroit, Michigan), @sptheplug
- Moses Rivera (Washington, D.C.), @mosart_artwear
- Kimeko Robinson (Washington, D.C.), @tkokocreole
- Levi Robinson (Newark, New Jersey), @levirobinsonart
- Shani Shi (Washington, D.C.), @ shanishih
- Luther Wright (Washington, D.C.), @lwart
- Dez Zambrano, (Los Angeles, California), @dezcustomz
The Big Six
- Mohammed Gafar (Saudi Arabia), @dezcustomz
- Jamaal Lamaaj (Washington, D.C.), @jlamaaj
- Shawn Perkins (Detroit, Michigan), @sptheplug
- Demont Pinder (Queens, New York), @demontpinder
- Levi Robinson (Newark, New Jersey), @levirobinsonart
- Dez Zambrano (Los Angeles, California), @dezcustomz