Science Gallery Atlanta explores social justice in thought-provoking exhibit

The network’s overarching mission is to encourage collaborations between artists and researchers working in disciplines ranging from social sciences to data sciences to natural sciences. Its members are also connected by their commitment to engaging audiences, particularly young people, with issues that define our time, such as climate change. The network’s goal is not to proselytize but rather to encourage meaningful dialogues and to cultivate responsible global citizens.

Science Gallery Atlanta’s current exhibition, “Justice,” through Sept. 30, is emblematic of this mission.

Credit: Courtesy of Science Gallery Atlanta

Credit: Courtesy of Science Gallery Atlanta

Curated by Science Gallery Atlanta’s Floyd Hall, “Justice” is a thought-provoking exhibition that examines societal systems that “govern our world and influence our lives.” Hall has produced an impactful exhibition around the broadly defined theme of justice.

Art and science are often built upon inquiries into issues that define our humanity, resulting in historic alliances between artists and scientists. Today, many contemporary artists have embraced evidence-based research, which is the foundation of the sciences, as critical to their practices. This has led to interesting collaborations between artists and scientists, whose dialogues have often focused on social engagement in a rapidly evolving, connected world. It is in this activist space that the Science Gallery Atlanta operates.

Questioning what makes a just society, the “Justice” exhibition looks at issues such as the ethics of facial recognition, the labor behind coffee production and the rights of people with disabilities. The projects are primarily installations created by collaborative multidisciplinary teams comprised of artists, scientists, activists and thinkers. Many of the projects are based in Atlanta, some with significant Emory connections. But this is not a local exhibition but rather a dialogue among local, regional and national artists.

Based on scale alone, the most impressive installation is “Destinations,” a Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) bus that has been “wrapped” by Atlanta artist Sanithna Phansavanh. Both a designer and public artist, Phansavanh created a truly beautiful wrap referencing the natural environment.

Credit: Courtesy of Science Gallery Atlanta

Credit: Courtesy of Science Gallery Atlanta

Visitors are welcome to sit on the bus where flowers entwine the seats. Overhead transit cards ask questions about the environment, community, economic access and the role that public transit plays in connecting us to our shared futures. And a special acknowledgment to MARTA for its willingness to participate in this initiative.

In 2021, Emory launched the Arts & Social Justice Fellowship program that embeds artists with Emory researchers working in multiple disciplines. “Justice” includes the work of several of the fellows. Notable is interdisciplinary artist Stephanie Brown’s “Seesaw,” a participatory artwork using the metaphor of the playground to demonstrate how social determinants, such race, education status and immigration status, impact our identities and social opportunities. Visitors select faux-gold bullion bars to place on the seesaw; the bars are technologically weighted to literally contextualize perceptions about the intersectionality of conditions such as gender, race and educational achievement.

“Seed Cabinet,” a Gainesville, Florida-based collaboration led by transdisciplinary artist Katerie Gladdys, is an interactive cabinet of curiosities. Employing an old library card catalog cabinet, the artist asks visitors to open the individual drawers outfitted with various seeds and plants. This action triggers videos and audio narratives installed on top of the cabinet that explore the relationships of these plants with site-specific political and ecological ecologies. The work provides an opportunity to consider the long history of agriculture and how food systems have impacted the natural world.

Credit: Bita Honarvar

Credit: Bita Honarvar

For Freedoms, founded by artists Hank Willis Thomas, Eric Gottesman and Michelle Woo in 2016, is a national collaboration that uses the power of the visual arts to mount campaigns during significant moments in contemporary American politics. “Justice” includes a salon-style installation of documentation of their projects that have been placed across the United States, as well as a large-scale billboard by an artist known as American Art.

The artist’s design visualizes a quote by poet Amiri Baraka: “Machines have the morality of their inventors.” Questioning the relationship between the morality of an inventor with the societal impact of the invention, Baraka speaks about the entwined relationships between enslaved people, their masters and technology. Clearly, For Freedoms doesn’t shy away from serious content.

Opportunities for community engagement are incorporated throughout the installations; gathering and reading spaces activate the exhibition as well. Mediators, many of whom are Atlanta-area college students, are on hand to discuss the projects with visitors.

Credit: Courtesy of Science Gallery Atlanta

Credit: Courtesy of Science Gallery Atlanta

Several of the projects, such as data artist Carl DiSalvo’s community mapping initiative, are brought to fruition through participatory events. A stage permanently installed in the center of the exhibition facilitates discussions on justice-related topics such as racism and compassion for unhoused populations.

Science Gallery Atlanta is clear in its social justice mission. It has carved out an important, not well-explored place in Atlanta’s current cultural ecology, setting it apart from other visual arts organizations. We’ll see what the future holds.

EXHIBIT REVIEW

“Justice”

Through Sept. 30. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesdays-Sundays. Free. Science Gallery Atlanta, 225 Rogers St. NE, Atlanta. atlanta.sciencegallery.com

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Louise E. Shaw has been a cultural worker in Atlanta for over 40 years. She served as executive director of Nexus Contemporary Art Center from 1983 to 1998, and was on Eyedrum’s ad hoc advisory board in the 2000s.

Credit: ArtsATL

Credit: ArtsATL

MEET OUR PARTNER

ArtsATL (www.artsatl.org), is a nonprofit organization that plays a critical role in educating and informing audiences about metro Atlanta’s arts and culture. Founded in 2009, ArtsATL’s goal is to help build a sustainable arts community contributing to the economic and cultural health of the city.

If you have any questions about this partnership or others, please contact Senior Manager of Partnerships Nicole Williams at nicole.williams@ajc.com.