Emory University’s Arts and Social Justice Fellows Program (ASJ) presents a project showcase and community conversation on Tuesday, Dec. 5, at the Switchyards Downtown Club. Doors open at 6 p.m. and programming begins at 7 p.m. The event is free and open to the public, but advance registration via Eventbrite is recommended.

Inspired by faith in the power of art to open spaces for conversation, community-making and collective action, the ASJ program brings Atlanta artists into Emory classrooms to help students translate their learning into creative activism in the name of social justice. Each artist is paired with an Emory faculty member to co-teach an existing course and design a relevant creative project for the students to produce throughout the semester.

“Through the Emory University Arts and Social Justice Fellows Program, we are harnessing the transformative power of art and education to drive conversations, promote empathy and inspire action on the critical issues of our time,” says Carlton Mackey, co-director of the ASJ program and assistant director of education, community dialogue and engagement at the High Museum of Art.

In addition to exposing students to new and creative ways of thinking about social change, these partnerships between Atlanta artists and Emory faculty build a bridge between the university and the city in which it resides.

“Our mission is to bridge the gap between the academy and the vibrant Atlanta arts community. Together, we are using creativity, scholarship and social connections to create a more just and compassionate society,” says Mackey. “The Arts and Social Justice Fellows Program represents a dynamic collaboration that fosters innovation and redefines the way we engage with the world. We invite everyone to join us on Dec. 5 for an evening of thought-provoking performances, installations and meaningful dialogues that embody the spirit of change and unity.”

Featuring opening remarks from Barbara Krauthamer, dean of Emory College of Arts and Sciences, the program will include live dance, spoken word, musical and theater performances. Prior to the performances, attendees are invited to explore multimedia art installations created in collaboration with Emory students, artist fellows and additional Atlanta-based artists.

Courses and faculty/artist pairings

Black Church, Black Music

Emorja Roberson, assistant professor of music and African American studies at Oxford College, with Adán Bean, writer, emcee and spoken word artist 

Dance Pedagogy

Lori Teague, associate professor of dance, with Antonio David Lyons, actor, poet, musician, playwright and artivist

Healing Justice is Social Justice: Narrative Medicine

Khaalisha Ajala, assistant professor at Emory University School of Medicine, with Meredith Gordon, clown and actor 

Immigration as Social and Structural Determinant of Health

Amy Zeidan, assistant professor at Emory School of Medicine, with Kelly Taylor Mitchell, artist, assistant professor of art and visual culture at Spelman College 

Information Visualization

Emily Wall, assistant professor in the Department of Computer Science, with W.J. Lofton, poet 

Introduction to Native American History

Loren Michael Mortimer, provost postdoctoral fellow in Native American History, with Bird Harris, painter and social practice artist

NRSG 726D DNP Project Development I

Shawana Moore, associate professor in the School of Nursing, with Nia Jackson, visual artist

About the Arts and Social Justice Fellows Program 

Amid a groundswell of national attention to racial and social injustice in the summer of 2020, Emory professors and students joined with Atlanta artists later that fall to explore how creative thinking and artistic expression can inspire change.  

A partnership between Emory Arts of Emory College of Arts and Sciences and the Ethics and the Arts program of the Emory University Center for Ethics, the Arts and Social Justice Fellows (ASJ) program was envisioned as an opportunity for faculty members to work alongside partnered ASJ Fellows to embed creative projects that reflect on social inequities into existing courses across the Emory curriculum. Throughout the program, the full cohort of faculty, artist fellows and their students will gather to learn about each other’s work and to exchange ideas across campus about the arts and social justice. The semester concludes with a public unveiling and citywide conversation to collectively consider the completed projects and the questions they raised. 

The Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) says it will review some of its governance policies and work on “rebuilding of trust” as it faces intense criticism over the departure of its celebrated Indigenous curator Wanda Nanibush earlier this month.

The AGO’s response comes after dozens of people from Indigenous arts communities in Canada and other countries signed a letter this week calling on the gallery to publicly acknowledge and explain Nanibush’s quiet exit from a role she’s held for years. 

Citing unnamed sources with connections to the AGO, The Globe and Mail has reported that Nanibush’s “vocal opinions” on various subjects — including her support of Palestinian causes — had caused friction among AGO staff, supporters of the institution and those who complained about Nanibush’s stance. 

An open letter from AGO director and CEO Stephan Jost, posted Thursday on the gallery’s website, makes no mention of Nanibush or her departure but acknowledges “intense discussion in the cultural community about freedom of political thought, artistic expression and the importance of good governance.”

Jost said the AGO is aware of “several letters and social media posts in circulation speculating about internal conversations” at the gallery.

“I hear you. I am taking this seriously and I know there will need to be a rebuilding of trust,” Jost wrote in the statement, a copy of which was emailed to The Canadian Press in response to a request for comment on the controversy.

“The events of the last several weeks have shaken us individually and institutionally,” Jost wrote. “We are taking the time to deeply review and reflect on our commitments to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Report so we can continue our efforts.”

He said the process “to better define the rights and limits of political and artistic expression” has started internally, “and, in addition, we will review some of our governance policies through a thoughtful and inclusive process.”

Letter says AGO ‘notably’ silent on Nanibush departure

Earlier this week, Indigenous artists, curators, educators and advocates called for a “genuine response” from the AGO on the matter and a public acknowledgement of Nanibush’s contributions to the international art world and decolonization efforts. 

Their letter said that while Nanibush’s appointment as the AGO’s first curator of Indigenous Art and co-lead of the gallery’s Indigenous and Canadian Art Department was highly publicized in 2017, her departure was “notably” silent.

“Many of us haphazardly learned of [it] only through a social media post,” the letter said.

Nanibush, an accomplished Anishinaabe-kwe curator, writer and community organizer from Beausoleil First Nation in southern Ontario, has not publicly commented on her departure from the AGO. 

She worked with various arts and community organizations before joining the AGO and won this year’s Toronto Book Award for “Moving the Museum,” a book she co-authored with AGO colleague Georgiana Uhlyarik.

Indigenous art workers being ‘pushed out,’ letter says 

The letter addressed to the AGO and arts institutions worldwide said that Nanibush’s case is just one example of Indigenous arts workers who have been “pushed out of institutions” in recent years.

It noted that Lucy Bell, a member of the Haida Nation who led the Indigenous collection and repatriation department at the Royal BC Museum, left the institution before a formal investigation concluded there was workplace racism and bullying at the museum; and that Kanyen’keháka artist and curator Greg A. Hill was dismissed from the National Gallery of Canada “with little transparency” on the reason. 

“The harms inflicted upon our community members working in these institutions MUST CEASE,” the letter said. “We are concerned about the safety and security of colonized people working in public institutions worldwide.”

Hill is one of the signatories of the letter, but he did not respond to an interview request. In a social media post last year, he said he was “fired” from the National Gallery of Canada because he disagreed with the way the gallery’s Department of Indigenous Ways and Decolonization was being run.

The AGO’s chief executive said in his letter that the gallery “remains fundamentally and fully committed to showing, acquiring and programming Indigenous art, voices and stories. 

“Our support of Indigenous artists remains strong, and respectfully, we do not take this for granted. We understand that these relationships will take work to re-establish and can only go ahead collaboratively,” Jost’s letter said.