The Art of Justice: Art-Making workshop + community dialogue (1 of 4)

The LA Lee Mizell YMCA Community Center and Niki Lopez of What’s Your Elephant present “The Art of Justice: Art-Making as Catalyst for Social Justice and Collective Action” an art-making series that features social justice-themed presentations, artist-led workshops across literary, visual, and performing arts, and culminating showcases that highlight the work created in the workshops while encouraging critical conversations about access, advocacy, agency, and collective action. This series will run from July 2021 – January 2022.

Workshop: Thursday, July 22; 6:30 – 8 PM
Artist leading art-making workshop & discussion: Niki Lopez & Alana
Special guest: Sue Gallagher

Register: https://bit.ly/theartofjustice-workshop1

Access: Access (+ Equity) Open and Available to All

Access is the gateway to inclusion and participation. It hinders or enables an individual or group to live in equity. In theory, public institutions are inherently socially equitable and strongly reflect the entire community’s concerns and needs to ensure that all have real access to opportunities; however, social equity in public institutions is not always a given and must be actively instituted and maintained as the needs and desires of the community evolve. Institutions only open to a privileged or select few have a high social injustice quotient. Restricted societies impede opportunities that could be available to the entire group. This lens addresses how art functions as a tool to illuminate inequality and create the space for the acquisition of access for all.

Artist Niki Lopez

Niki Lopez Afro-Latina, Queer, award-winning interdisciplinary Visual Artist, Activist, Social Practioner, Placemaker and Cultural Programer. Lopez is best known for her vibrant color palette, masks and a collection of works dealing with some of her trauma and healing through the arts which inspired her to create What’s Your Elephant ®. Lopez produces “The Circle”, a weekly Facebook/Youtube live – video podcast sharing stories of our creative community, activists & social entrepreneurs. Niki’s advocacy includes mental health, self-care, and learning to swim.

Artist Alana DaCosta

Alana DaCosta is a creative rebel and her creative abilities are limitless. As an interdisciplinary artist, Aland uses various mediums as a creative community builder, artist-activist, singer/songwriter, musician, and poet. Musically, Alana’s distinctive sound extends beyond boundaries as she blends neo-soul with, jazz, reggae, world music and a drop of funk. As founder of KR8TiVE Uprising, Inc, her mission is to be artistically responsible for creating global change, social responsibility and collective inspiration. The learn more about Alana and her community projects and performances visit, www.alanadacosta.com.

Special guest Sue Gallagher

Sue Gallagher is a woman racialized as white who is committed to racial equity and liberation for all. She has over 30 years of non-profit, local government, and higher education experience. Sue is passionate about learning, teaching, healing, and co-creating equity, harmony, and resonance to address harm, integrate our shadows and imagine/practice new ways of being in relationship.

Supplies needed to participate in art-making:

• Paper
• Scissors
• Glue
• Magazine to cut from
• Pencil
• Markers or paint

To be included in the virtual showcase:

There will be a virtual showcase Saturday, July 31; 1- 3 PM.  We will showcase completed work, have a featured performing artist and other art.  To be included:

• Take a photo of the completed art piece
• Email with with name

Zoom/Facebook live
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Each lens will have:
1 Day: art-making workshop day & community conversation centered on that lens.
1 Day: a showcase of work from the workshop, art from artists, open mic, community dialogue, featured performance artist

This series will culminate in January 2022 with some of the works from each lens, performances.

More info: https://whatsyourelephant.org/theartofjustice

Support for this project has been provided by the following funds at the Community Foundation of Broward: Oakland Park Woman’s Club, David and Francie Horvitz Family Fund, Ann Adams Fund and the Mary and Alex Mackenzie Impact Fund.

About the Community Foundation of Broward:

Founded in 1984, the Community Foundation of Broward helps families, individuals and organizations create personalized charitable Funds that deliver game-changing philanthropic impact.  479 charitable Funds represent more than $200 million in assets, distributing $131 million in grants over the past 36 years.  The Community Foundation provides bold leadership on community solutions and fosters philanthropy that connects people who care with causes that matter. The Foundation empowers visionaries, innovators and doers to create the change they want to see in the community – and to BE BOLD. www.cfbroward.org