I’ve had the privilege to be able to go to to the museum and go to exhibits for a few artist over the past couple weeks. One of which was The History of Right Now (aka THORN) by photographer OJ Slaughter. They have taken the time to document this important cultural moment with BLM Movement protests and continues to hit the streets. I was actually able to volunteer with them for the show and may I say, a lovely person, they should be protected at all costs. They set up at Windy Studios on a lovely Saturday afternoon and I greeted gallery visitors with sanitizer, a temperature check and stickies + a pen. This allowed for people to move one way through the gallery but still have the option to voice their opinions on the work. I had a great time not only bringing people in to see the work but to read some of the comments on the work after people came out of the exhibit to them grab a free postcard. It showed that their are ways to show art that are safe and clean even though I considered them to be before the pandemic.

Okay so it’s been a month since and sadly this artist, doing their job documenting what is our current circumstance with the police in Boston and gets pepper sprayed. For me, it just solidifies the necessity for us to keep speaking and using our voices to the best of our ablities. We have to keep protecting each other, the time is now cause the future can’t wait. As much as it matters to sign petitions, hit the streets and protest, voting, for these who can, solidifies our voices on paper in the halls of where our country’s decsions are made.

Stay safe, wear a mask and find a little moment of Joy,

Erica