Are you an artist thinking about how to respond to this crucial moment? Watch our “Art for Change” video series to learn from four transformative multidisciplinary artists who are using their craft to inspire justice, healing, and resistance.
Award-winning documentary and portrait photographer, curator, and writer Laylah Amatullah Barrayn brings her dynamic experiences contributing to the top publications in the country to Common Justice, where she shares a masterclass in ethical storytelling for photo and film. Barrayn shares a breadth of problematic truths about the origins of these mediums in American history followed by the tools and techniques she uses to tell honest stories that center the humanity, dignity, and justice of her subjects. In this inspiring Art for Change video, Barrayn reminds viewers of the accessibility of art, and inspires artists of all levels to resist harmful narratives and replace them with their own stories.
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Award-winning contemporary multi-media artist, filmmaker, and educator Bayeté Ross Smith joins Common Justice to share how artists can use diverse perspectives to challenge dominant narratives of violence. He offers deep insight into his creative processes behind his notable projects like “Taking AIM”, which explores the perception of violence and identity. In this Art for Justice video, Smith gives a masterclass in how to use art to pose necessary questions about harmful narratives of violence, and what we can do to resist them.
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Internationally touring and acclaimed writer, poet, and performer Caroline Rothstein joins Common Justice to explore the ways artists can use principles of abolition and safety in their art to push justice forward. She reveals her step-by-step process on how to develop creative ideas that invite audiences to take a deeper look into our systems and challenge mainstream narratives of violence. In this Art for Justice video, Rothstein gives powerful guidance on how to create meaningful dialogue through art, with activism and justice at its center.
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Author, filmmaker, and spoken word poet David Ralik Hopper brings his rich background as community organizer, credible messenger, and formerly incarcerated person to his art with every project. In this Art for Justice video, he inspires budding artists with grounding values and tips for inspiration to respond to society’s challenges in a way that brings community together, and performs his evocative original poem, “Murals and Candles”.
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