This brief is adapted from notes taken by Documenters Danicka Refugio and Sherrita Niles, who covered the ART for IMPACT event. 📝 Read more about what happened.
On Nov. 24, Documenters attended ART for IMPACT, an art event to bring awareness to police brutality.
The event featured six Black local artists and a community healing session to honor victims of police violence.
Artists Obed, Slim, Deanna “Nann” Harris, Durango, A.R.T., Wildstyle Paschall and Brother Jamaal, showcased works displaying themes of racial, systemic and social injustices impacting the Black community in Indianapolis.
The event was organized by Wildstyle Paschall, Jamaal “Brother Jamaal” Nelson and the Justice for Herman Whitfield III campaign.
Visual artist Deanna Harris said she started her work in 2022. Her featured work was a collage, created to “show a balance between the things that are very disheartening and shine a light on the life.” She said she wanted to show the good and the bad in situations of police violence.
Harris, an art teacher, said she tells her students that it’s OK to express themselves through their art. “That’s my way of speaking on these topics without getting too deep.”
Harris said she’s new to Indianapolis and the local community is important.
She said finding community is hard but was inspired to see people show up and support one another.
Jacob Watkins, a campaign volunteer, said police violence affects the entire city. He said IMPD has reached alarming rates of use of force.
“The whole community needs to be aware and their voices need to be heard. It’s going to be a long battle but it takes everyone showing up,” he said.
Watkins said talking about this case in churches and other community spaces is crucial to keep the conversation going.
Dea Lott, campaign manager for Justice for Herman Whitfield III, shared thoughts about police violence. She said there is a role for everyone in justice work and it has to start at the community level.
Lott shared an Ethiopian proverb, “When spider webs unite, they can tie up a lion.” She encouraged the audience to be the spider webs that tie up police violence.
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