200 Barlow Rd
Fairfield, CT 06824
USA
#UNLOAD: Guns in the Hands of Artists
Presented by Fairfield University Art Museum in partnership with #UNLOAD and Guns In The Hands of Artists Foundation opens June 1. This exhibition is part of a nationwide initiative to generate conversation about guns and gun violence.
Each piece in the exhibition was created using decommissioned guns, taken off the streets of New Orleans via the city’s gun buyback program, and distributed to internationally-known artists. Painters, glass artists, sculptors, photographers, video artists, poets, and other artists used the decommissioned firearms to create works of art that address the complex issue of guns and gun violence. The exhibition will open on Friday, June 1 and run through October 13, 2018 in the museum’s Walsh Gallery.
Guns in the Hands of Artists, will offer the opportunity to continue this national conversation with a focus on Connecticut’s response to the challenges posed by the threat of gun violence, and the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012.
The museum plans a full slate of programs in conjunction with this exhibition. On Thursday, September 12 at 5 pm, the museum will host a panel discussion in the Wien Theatre on “Gun Violence in Connecticut: Realities and Paths Forward,” aimed to facilitate public engagement on the realities of gun violence in Connecticut, and weigh the value of different approaches to reducing accessibility to guns.
On Thursday, September 20 at 6 pm, Barone Campus Center, Oak Room, Patrick Kelley, MD, DrPH, Distinguished Visiting Fellow, will engage in a conversation about “Gun Violence as a Public Health Crisis,” moderated by Congressman Jim Himes.
The culminating event will be on Friday, October 12. A “Closing Night Party” will showcase a world premiere dance of a new work by Movement Art Is (MAI), commissioned by Fairfield University’s Quick Center for the Arts. MAI, featuring artists Jon Boogz and Lil Buck, is creating this work in response to the powerful works in the exhibition.