Art poses difficult questions and asks the viewer to respond. That is especially true of the Say It Loud exhibition, hosted by the Denison Museum for most of 2020.
In Say It Loud, the work of world-renowned contemporary Black artists document and challenge dominant historical perspectives and events. The exhibition illustrates the struggles and achievements of African-Americans, with themes focused on ethnic identity, institutional racism, gender, and beauty.
While Say It Loud features national works from the Guggenheim, Whitney, and MoMA artists, including Kehinde Wiley (Obama’s official portraitist), it inspired local artists to document their own perspectives and to “Say It Loud, Columbus.”
Megan Hancock, the museum’s curator of Education and Exhibitions says, “The Museum wanted to expand this dialogue by reaching out to Black Columbus-based artists for ‘mini virtual interviews.”
The video interviews were conducted by Arman Meineke ’21, a cinema major and an intern at the museum. Meineke spoke to 11 artists, including JSTN Coleman, a Denison faculty member. On topics that ranged from their favorite work to the role of contemporary art in society.
