Over the summer of 2020, hundreds of thousands of central Ohioans took to the streets to express their thoughts and feelings surrounding the death of George Floyd and police use of force.
As businesses put up boards on their storefronts, murals started appearing around the city. That’s when CAPA and the Greater Columbus Arts Council joined in.
Murals All Around
Though artists were already out creating the work, GCAC, CAPA and others wanted to help support them, says Jami Goldstein, GCAC vice president of marketing, communications and events.
“We put some money behind it and tried to provide resources to businesses who wanted to hire artists to paint boards,” Goldstein says. “... We felt it was important to make a record of the artists’ response to this moment in history.”
With the use of a map, a website and the campaign #ArtUnitesCBus, GCAC and CAPA helped organize a way to view the art and begin record-keeping as well. But that was only the beginning.
As the city quieted and boards began to come down, Goldstein says, the organizations jumped into action to begin preserving the artwork.
“This moment in history had an opportunity for a reach beyond the time that the boards were visible Downtown,” Goldstein says. “... When all of the actions … waned, we felt that it was an opportunity to continue the conversation.”
Over the next year and half, the murals were photographed, sealed and displayed at 16 locations around the greater Columbus area for communities to see.
With each installation and movement, the boards began to deteriorate, and while organizers tried their best to preserve them – even putting a few on display at GCAC offices – some were lost to time and the elements, Goldstein says.
Even without the physical boards, though, countless people in the community wanted to continue the conversation about the art itself. With pictures of the work and the artists’ names, GCAC worked with Warhol & WALL ST. to create a book.
Birth of a Book
Measuring about 12 inches on each side, the record-shaped Art Activism Action book has roughly 230 pages filled from front to back with colorful images and powerful passages.
Warhol & WALL ST. worked hard to not only capture as much art as they could, but also reach the artists who created it, over the course of more than a year, says Donna Marbury, the company’s book editor and director of client relations.
Every decision about the book –shape, size even page layouts – was intentional, Marbury says, to capture the work as it was seen in the city.
“Some of the pages, we extended the artwork off of the original piece because we wanted it to feel larger than life,” she says. “If you were able to drive through Downtown or walk down the Short North when this was happening, it was larger than life to see all this protest art in the city. And so we wanted to get that feel on the page and help the artwork to come to life.”
QR codes throughout the book allow viewers to watch short films, dance performances and poetry readings that add another dimension to the experience.
“All of this (art) was already occurring; it was a bonus of ours to just capture it. Technology allows us to include those types of things in the book,” Marbury says. “We see the book as a living anthology, in a sense, so it was paramount that we found a way to capture those live elements as well as the static artwork.”
Continuing the Conversation
A total of 1,000 copies of the book were printed, with many going to the artists whose work is featured inside and the organizations – such as Deliver Black Dreams, which is led by Maroon Arts Group – that brought it to life.
Several copies were also distributed to the Columbus Metropolitan Library so each of the 23 branches could have at least one. The next goal is to get some into the high schools throughout Franklin County so they are accessible to as many people as possible, Goldstein says.
The team is also working to identify any unnamed artists whose work was featured in the book so they can be recognized, says Marbury.
With a limited number of books left, any funds earned from sales will be contributed to a mural fund for artists of color that GCAC launched in January, she says.
Mandi Caskey (Miss Birdy) – Muralist
Growing up in Lima, Mandi Caskey began creating art in middle and high school, and eventually pursued that desire further by attending the Columbus College of Art & Design for a degree in fine arts.
After two years of school, Caskey decided to drop out and began creating graffiti and street art on a full-time basis.
Ten years later, Caskey has her own studio in south Columbus and continues to create street art that she says “enhances the environment.”
That feeling of beauty is also what she hoped to capture in the mural she created in summer 2020, which is featured on the bottom right corner of the front cover and on page 110.
“It’s definitely an image of pride,” Caskey says. “And I just wanted people to feel welcome to approach that space and stand with that person.”
The book especially helps bring awareness to the work that street artists do by capturing the art in a way that allows people to revisit it, and allowing people to see it who may not have seen it otherwise, she says.
“It’s definitely a really good feeling to see that (book), especially for street art,” Caskey says. “The aspect of it being super impermanent, and then also being able to go into a book, really helps resonate with the context of why the art was created.”
Photo by Scott Ciulei
Brianna Rhodes - Dancer
A graduate of The Ohio State University, Brianna Rhodes grew up in Dayton, but is glad to now call Columbus home.
Since she graduated in 2019, Rhodes has been hard at work as a teacher and dancer – both freelance and through a residency.
She teaches part-time at Dance Extension in Dublin and at Reynoldsburg High School as part of a program through BalletMet, while also completing a residency with Dianne McIntyre’s dance company.
Expressing herself through dance has always been the best way for Rhodes to truly voice her thoughts and her story, she says, and summer 2020 was no different.
“There were a lot of feelings I was processing,” Rhodes says, “and I was like, ‘I can’t dance. I can’t move. I can’t go out there. But I have all these words to say.’ So I wrote (the poem) Color (less).”
The poem can be heard by scanning a QR code, which leads to a YouTube video of Rhodes performing while the poem is read, on page 125 of the book.
Rhodes is still in awe that her work was included in the book, as she feels fortunate not only to have her hard work recognized, but also by so many people.
“I was humbly appreciative to be recognized for my hard work as an artist,” Rhodes says. “I always tell people, if you want to do this art thing, it’s not for the faint of heart. It’s not for the weak, you have to go in. Love will keep you pushing, but love cannot keep you in it.”
Kendel Boone - Photographer
Photo By Tariq Tarey
Born and raised in Roanoke Rapids, N.C., Kendel Boone didn’t always see herself as a photographer.
She attended the University of North Carolina Greensboro and earned a degree in information systems and supply chain management.
Although she moved to Columbus in 2008, it wasn’t until 2014 that she got into photography. From there, her business, Kendel Kaptures, took off.
Boone’s business focuses on affordable senior photos for students and their families, but over the summer of 2020, she wanted to help capture the peaceful side of the protests.
“I just wanted to show peace, and I also wanted to show understanding,” Boone says. “And then in the midst of all of that, the ability for something to affect the community as a whole.”
While she had never planned on submitting her work, with the support and encouragement of her wife, Boone submitted several pictures, which can be seen on pages 212, 213 and 215.
“I never thought that this would come out of it,” Boone says. “So I feel honored to be a part of that conversation. And then I also am aware of the magnitude of what it can do for future generations.”
Rachel Karas is an editor at CityScene Media Group. Feedback welcome at rkaras@cityscenemediagroup.com.
