Snickers that turn into livable joy

Curated by Amani Williams

 August 13 – September 12, 2021

Ann and Norman Roulet Student + Alumni Gallery

Exhibition Statement:

 History, as we know it, is really storytelling. Much of the history taught through America leads to narratives that uphold white-supremacist beliefs, which then confects a narrative that dismisses and disempowers BIPOC. In “Snickers That Turn Into Livable Joy,” humor, wit and criticism become a path to joy in the gallery. These snickers are directed at the ridiculous nature of the exclusionary art historical canon. The term “livable joy” is a way of stating a kind of happiness that is worth striving for. It does not wait for affirmation from the institution, but rather responds to performative activism with real doing. The work of these artists stands in balance to years of the suppression and marginalization of POC and womxn artists. From Derek Walker’s gleeful afro-futuristic “Gem in I” to Ewuresi Archer’s disorienting battle-cry “Free Forever,” audiences are propelled forward into a new chapter of the art historical narrative."