EXHIBITING ARTISTS
Zina Allen
Jamila Clarke
Jeremy Okai Davis
Sapata Fofana-Dura
Israel Hammond
Rinee Merritt
Keeva Moselle
Lorraine Richey
Daren Todd
Stormie True
MOsley WOtta

CURATORIAL STATEMENT
The traveling exhibition Black Matter showcases contemporary Oregon-based black artists in an effort to address an imbalance in representation. Their voices should be heard, not because they are black, because they are human beings with unique life experiences. It is essential to lift up the contributions of black artists above systematic oppression in life and in art. Black artists should be recognized as individuals, without the filter of what the Western art canon tells us black art is or should be. The goal of the exhibition is to broaden cultural awareness of and appreciation for art by black artists in Oregon. This exhibit offers black artists the opportunity to share artwork that expresses what’s in their hearts and minds without the requirement of a political agenda. Black artists are continuously expected to make art about race, racism, and social injustice. The artwork in this exhibition expresses more than their experience of living in a state and country rooted in systematic racism; their art speaks to the experience of being human.