Join us as we unveil a limited-time exhibition that offers a powerful look into two competing artistic responses to racial violence during 1930s, with lessons for our world today.
In 1935, two anti-lynching art exhibitions were held in New York—one organized by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the second by the Communist Party. The two installations spoke to competing notions of the political function of critical artworks and the aesthetics of anti-racist protest.
“Unmasked: The Anti-Lynching Exhibits of 1935 and Community Remembrance in Indiana” unites these exhibitions in a single gallery space accompanied by other multi-media materials, and features examples of efforts to memorialize and honor the lives lost in Indiana of this once all-too common public expression of white supremacy.
Opening event: February 6, 6-7:30pm. Details.
On view (unguided): February 7-16 (during CRHC public hours) Details.
Guided tours: February 7, 10am, 2pm, and 6pm. RSVP.
Please be advised: “Unmasked” includes graphic images of racist violence, torture, and brutality, and examples of racist language. The artists represented in this exhibition frequently sought to balance their commitment to showing the horror of white supremacy and their concerns about reproducing it.
“Unmasked” was developed by Alex Lichtenstein of Indiana University, Rasul Mowatt of North Carolina State University, and Phoebe Wolfskill of Indiana University.