Faces of Colombia-The Invisible Communities: an Art and Educational Exhibit
In July 2017, as part of a delegation Witness for Peace, Donna Slade visited Colombia. After witnessing personal and revealing accounts of the social inequities perpetuated by US policies in Colombia as well as the local peace building efforts of Afro-Colombian and Indigenous communities she returned to the US and began working on an art exhibit that would help bring the stories of Colombian communities to the US. This exhibit will be traveling throughout the US for the next year (for a full schedule see below)
Utilizing the medium of colored pencil, artist Donna Slade has created a series of realistic paintings depicting the struggles and strength of social activists and community leaders in Colombia. These portraits illuminate these citizens’ hardships and highlight their own dignity in the face of oppression. Through these images Slade hopes that others will become even more enlightened about the role of US policies in maintaining systems of exploitation, the struggles facing people within these invisible communities, and show solidarity with their grassroots initiatives for social change.
The voices of many Colombian people and communities remain invisible and unheard in their country and in the United States. Though Colombian activists and social leaders are working to build peace from the ground up, their initiatives are often threatened by US-backed policy in the region that supports militarization and big business over sustainable people-based policies.
This exhibit is a starting point for exploring how global economic policies that value wealth over human lives has similar ramifications in the lives of US and Colombian residents. This exhibit will underscore how the struggle for change in Colombia is similar to the struggle for change by other marginalized groups in the United States as well as many other countries.
To learn more about the role of US policies in Colombia check out this blog post:
http://www.wfpse.org/americans-created-border-crisis/
Exhibit Schedule: Interested in hosting the exhibition – please contact us!
October 23, 2018 – November 16, 2018
Vanderbilt University – Kissam Center
101 21st Ave. S.
Nashville, TN 37240
April 5, 2019 – April 30, 2019
Sawtooth School for Visual Art
251 N. Spruce Street
Winston-Salem, NC
May 3, 2019 – June 1, 2019
Caldwell Arts Center/Caldwell Arts Council
601 College Ave
Lenoir, NC
July 12, 2019 – July 30, 2019
Craven Arts Council
317 Middle Street
New Bern, NC
August 15, 2019 – November, 2019- Reception and Lecture Wednesday September 18, 2019
Queens University of Charlotte
1900 Selwyn Ave.
Charlotte, NC
2020
April 2020
Bev’s Fine Art
4932 7400 Six Forks Road
Raleigh, NC 27615