The Cincinnati Art Association’s Weston Art Gallery has commissioned a mural in response to the tragic death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police, and the ongoing public protests and demonstrations seeking social justice. Weston Executive Director Dennis Harrington chose African-American poet and writer Elese Daniel to produce a new text-based window mural along the 7th Street side of the Aronoff Center for the Arts.
The four-panel work, entitled “structural veil,” is presented across boarded-up windows that were covered, as a result of their breakage, following the first day of largely peaceful protests. Recognizing the opportunity to transform a destructive act into a constructive dialogue, Harrington asked Daniel to create this new work to give voice to the frustration and anger within the African-American community “that has largely been ignored or minimized for far too long.”
Elese Daniel is a Cincinnati writer who explores the hybridity of poetry, prose, and memoir. She was a contributing author of “Seven Hills and a Queen to Name Them,” a love poem for Cincinnati, crafted by Chase Public and commissioned by ArtWorks.
The work, below, will remain on display along 7th Street near Walnut Street throughout the summer.
Paint, vinyl over OSB wood panels 68 x 61 inches each