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TRANS PEOPLE ARE SACRED
NATIONAL BILLBOARD CAMPAIGN

In recent months, the Transgender community has been faced with numerous calculated attacks from the current administration. Intentionally regressive policy reform has led to increased systematic discrimination against Trans people. This has led to the loss of vital protections in healthcare, housing, homelessness resources, and the cruel and sudden exclusion of Trans people from military service. These are fundamental human rights, all of which are necessary for our survival.

The violent murders of Black Trans Women and Trans Women of Color remain at epidemic levels. In 2020 we have already seen too many brilliant individuals taken from this world by force. The public should be a safe place for Trans and gender non-conforming people to exist freely.

It is our goal to reclaim public space for the Trans community.

Our bodies are holy ground, our magic is potent and true, and our existence makes the world a more loving and equitable place for all. We have always been here and always will be. We demand safety for our community. We demand the right to exist without being targeted. We demand understanding. We will continue to work tirelessly until these demands are met.

Now is the time to bring our light into the world like never before.

In July of 2019, Transgender artist and activist Jonah Welch  launched a billboard in Detroit, Michigan, in collaboration with Save Art Space  and Ellen Rutt . The billboard proclaimed "Trans People Are Sacred,” a phrase that was first shared with Jonah by Dakota Camacho  years earlier while they were residents of the Audre Lorde Cooperative in Madison, Wisconsin.

The billboard was intended to strengthen representation and inspire hope for Trans individuals in Detroit, but the piece spread like wildfire. The billboard reached a global audience. The words, Trans People Are Sacred, took root, and catalyzed profound healing for individuals and communities the world over. After the success of the initial billboard, Save Art Space reached out to Jonah Welch to create a national-level project for this work. 

Now we have the opportunity to spread this message even farther.


WE NEED YOUR HELP

It is our goal to place these billboards in one hundred cities across the United States, with a distinct focus on conservative areas in the south and southwest. The billboards will go up between mid-September and mid-October, just weeks before the election, so that our voices can be heard. Because of its inherent accessibility and visibility, it is our belief that public art holds the potential to shift culture. Each $1000 we raise will allow us to place a billboard in another city. The additional $52k will be used to pay 52 Trans & Non-Binary BIPOC artists $1000 each for their work (50 visual artists and two curators). And while our initial goal is $152k, we hope to exceed this amount and cover the country with this beacon of hope. 

CALL FOR BIPOC ARTISTS

We are dedicating the majority of billboard space to the work of Trans & Non-Binary BIPOC artists. All art must include the phrase "Trans People are Sacred" or a culturally-rooted variation on this phrase specific to the artist. (ex: "Black Trans People are Sacred"). We encourage artists to interpret this phrase through the lens of their ancestral language and culture. Each selected artist will be paid $1000 for their work.

The cohort of BIPOC artists will be selected by Dakota Camacho  and Ryan Young . For submission guidelines, to suggest a billboard location, or to inquire about press opportunities please contact Jonah via the Gofundme contact form.

SaveArtSpace has partnered with Expression Against Oppression bringing more public art to Portland, OR!

 

Expression Against Oppression is a space for Black, brown, indigenous people and all oppressed people to take up space in Portland, the whitest city in America. It is a space for BIPOC creatives to have the tools to the creative and be connected to projects happening around social justice. Our mission is to elevate Black and POC creatives to see the power in their work and art and to build a community that fights for justice and equality. We must create and design safe playground spaces in marginalized communities and elevate Black and brown creatives all over the world.

 

The art world is not inclusive of all, it is only inclusive of a few. We must bring attention to all underrated creatives, all unknown creatives. all creatives fighting for change, and all creatives challenging the status quo. All BIPOC artists will be selected from our OPEN CALL.

 

WE NEED YOUR HELP

Our goal is to install 8 billboards around Portland Oregon that will go up in July. BIPOC artists deserve space and visibility and for others, to hear their voices and stories, this is a direct way to not only support BIPOC creatives, but also replace destructive ad space with impactful art, and put money directly into the hands of artists that are fighting for a better world with equality and justice. Each tax-deductible donation of $1,000 we raise will fund the artwork of BIPOC artists and support them on their journey of using art as a weapon for change. 

 

12k for billboards // 1.5k for each installed billboard from Pacific // 8 billboards

4k for artists // 500 to each artist selected // 8 artists will be selected

$1,500 for 3 curators // 500 each

 

Curated by Salomée Souag , founder of Expression Against Oppression, Bernadette Little , and Xiuhtezcatl .

--

We’ve been told to stay silent,
To blend in,
To sit down and listen,
To not take up too much space,
Play a role.

 

Our time is now,
Time to be loud,
Bold,

Unapologetic about taking up space.
We are here to reclaim what’s ours.
This city needs us more than ever before.
Our voice, our vision has power.
It holds the power of a thousand ancestors and warriors.

 

This is art for the revolution, art for change. It brings power to the people. Power to the creatives, power to the youth.
It is more than a billboard or a mural, each space is a deep story, a struggle, a history, a celebration, a fight.
This is our fight for justice, for equality, for Black and brown liberation.

 

We have to make write and draw our own narrative.
Growing up, we didn’t see ourselves as the people who inspired us.
We have to be the inspiration, the pioneers, and the creators.

 

This is an expression against oppression.

--

Founded in 2015, SaveArtSpace is a non-profit organization that works to create an urban gallery experience, launching exhibitions that address intersectional themes and foster a progressive message of social change. By placing culture over commercialism, SaveArtSpace aims to empower artists from all walks of life and inspire a new generation of young creatives and activists.

 

‘RESTORATION: NOW OR NEVER’  is a public art exhibition co-organized by two independent curators, Anne Verhallen and Daria Borisova, and the non-profit SaveArtSpace.  

After months of lockdown, this exhibition hopes to reconnect the public on the streets of London for a show that calls to restore our connection to nature, bring attention to the world’s climate crisis and pay ode to mother Earth! ‘RESTORATION: NOW or NEVER,’ presented in conjunction with World Environment Day on June 5, 2021 in the UK—a day committed to encouraging awareness and action to protect our environment—will extend across popular London advertisement spaces, like billboards, kiosks and bus shelters, for one month.

The public art exhibition is an intergenerational project, presenting renowned artists alongside artists carefully selected through an open call, with a deadline of April 12th. Working with a next-generation curatorial team, including Michael Xufu Huang, Destinee Ross-Suton, Aindrea London, Daria Borisova and Anne Verhallen, the show will bring together a global and diverse group of artists. Curators are selecting artists who create work in response to climate change, calls for restorative action or suggests a path forward. Confirmed artists include Stefan Bruggemann, Zhuang Huan, Tabita Rezaire, Wang Yuyang, Coco Capitán, and Khari Turner.

The mission of this independent project is to raise awareness of climate crisis issues like global warming, to give artists in all stages of their career a platform to to express concern and leadership, and to bring art to the public after a year of closed gallery and museum spaces.

With your support, we will have the opportunity to secure more advertising spaces, pay our artists and create a greater impact. Thank you!

Wisconsin’s first ever LGBTQ+ billboard art exhibition is seeking financial support to rent advertising spaces throughout the city of Milwaukee! Queering the Cream City is a public art exhibition in Milwaukee, Wisconsin organized by Vaughan Larsen as an extension of That Way , an Instagram account and printed zine, featuring weekly takeovers of LGBTQ+ artists. By replacing ads with art for one month, we will create an outdoor exhibition, adding contemporary LGBTQ+ art to the streets of Milwaukee.




Nearly 1/5 of hate crime incidents reported in 2019  stemmed from anti-LGBTQ bias. There was an increase  in gender identity based hate crime from 2018 to 2019, even with increasing levels of visibility and representation. It is my goal to reclaim public space for the queer community. Bringing art to the streets that celebrates queer lives and bodies is a radical act of visibility and a radical act of love.


Each $1000 we raise will allow us to rent one more billboard. Our goal is to fill 20 Milwaukee billboards with LGBTQ+ art.


Queering the Cream City will be presented as an exhibit mounted simultaneously on the urban streets of Milwaukee and, in cooperation withThe Alice Wilds, a contemporary gallery venue from July 23rd through August 23rd, 2021. I am so ecstatic for this project to celebrate the vibrant queer community in Milwaukee! 


This open call exhibition will be juried by Vaughan Larsen, TJ Dedeaux Norris, andLaurence Philomene. You can submit work here.

WE DEMAND AN END TO POLICE BRUTALITY NOW!

Please share, repost, and donate to this fundraiser. SaveArtSpace is a 501(c)3 nonprofit art organization representing artist Adeshola Makinde's powerful civil rights messages on billboards across the country, where Black Lives Matter protests are being held. We plan on exhibiting these billboards for over a month in every major city to the areas most affected by their local police precinct. 

-(Complete) Initial goal is to raise $5,000 to install these artworks in 5 major cities. Starting with Chicago, Minnesota, Oakland, Los Angeles, New York!

Every $1,000 thereafter will support the message in another city.

-(Complete) $10,000 to install artworks in Atlanta, Washington D.C., Baltimore, Miami, and Indianapolis.

-(Complete) $15,000 to show Adeshola's work in Ferguson, Baton Rouge, Charleston, Portland, Nashville!

-(Complete) $20,000 to show Adeshola's work in Philadelphia, Las Vegas, Louisville, Flint, Seattle!

-Our next goal is $25,000 to show Adeshola’s work in Richmond, Jackson, Birmingham, Tulsa, Houston!

-Our main goal is to raise $50,000 to install this message in every state! To fight against racism and the unnecessary force of police brutality.



•Tier 1 - $5 - WE DEMAND AN END TO POLICE BRUTALITY NOW! Sticker 3 X 5 inches

•Tier 2 - $25 - WE DEMAND AN END TO POLICE BRUTALITY NOW! Protest Sign 11 X 17 inches

•Tier 3 - $50 - WE DEMAND AN END TO POLICE BRUTALITY NOW! Sticker & Protest Sign

•Tier 4 - $100 - "Dare to be More ." Archival Giclee Fine Art Print 8.5 X 11 inches

•Tier 5 - $500 - "Dare to be More ." Archival Giclee Fine Art Print 8.5 X 11 inches & "REACHING FOR LIGHT " Archival Giclee Fine Art Print 11 X 14 inches 

•Tier 6 - $1000 - Framed "REACHING FOR LIGHT " Archival Giclee Fine Art Print 11 X 14 inches

This is from a series entitled ‘RELEVANT’. With this body of work I wanted to go back to the Civil Rights Movement (1954-1968); when African Americans were fighting for constitutional and legal rights that other Americans already had at the time. I particularly referenced protest signs from this era to spark a discussion of why they’re still relevant more than 50 years later. I want to show that far too often we look back at that time as if it was centuries ago, when in fact it’s a fight that’s ongoing.

Adeshola Makinde  is an artist based in Chicago, Illinois. He was raised in the Chicagoland suburbs. He got his start taking photos at parties, concerts, fashion shows and other cultural events. His work today tends to challenge the viewer to question and/or have a conversation with the systems they find themselves in.

Connect with Adeshola on Instagram @adesholamakinde .

Artist: Adeshola Makinde 
Series: RELEVANT
Title: WE DEMAND AN END TO POLICE BRUTALITY NOW!
Size: 16 X 20 
Medium: Silkscreen on Canvas
Year: 2019 

Original work exhibited in a SaveArtSpace  public art and Playground Detroit gallery exhibition. “Signs of the Times” curated by Ellen Rutt in July, 2019.

This fundraiser was conceived by SaveArtSpace advisory board member Nicole Buffett 

If you have any questions please visit our website and email us at [email redacted]. Thank you!

MINISTRY OF TRUTH
NYC BILLBOARD CAMPAIGN

Between the pandemic and the presidency, things seem to be getting worse and worse. We hardly know what is truth anymore and what are lies. Artists are at the forefront expressing their opposition.  They are offering images and ideas about how to get out of this mess and how to express resistance. With museums and galleries only beginning to reopen,  we believe public space is the perfect place for artists to express themselves.
 
It is our goal to create an exhibition on billboards across the five boroughs to allow artists to express their resistance and highlight their solutions in the weeks leading up to the election.

“Art is our weapon.  Culture is a form of resistance,”  says Shirin Neshat,  one of the participating artists in this project. Now is the time for artists of all kinds from every community in NYC to come together and bring their light out into the streets.
 
In summer of 2020,  Save Art Space teamed up with Art at a Time Like This to launch 20 billboards in NYC.  The billboards are intended to strengthen resistance and demonstrate that artists should be key players in any political discussion.  Already Shirin Neshat, Dread Scott,  Marilyn Minter and Deborah Kass have agreed to participate.  50% of the artists will be chosen from an OPEN CALL.

We have the opportunity to spread this message even farther.


WE NEED YOUR HELP

It is our goal to place these billboards pm at least 20 sites strategically placed around NYC.  The billboards will go up in  mid-October, just weeks before the election, so that our voices can be heard. Because of its inherent accessibility and visibility, it is our belief that public art holds the potential to shift culture. Each tax-deductible donation of $1000 we raise will allow us to place another billboard and help pay fees for artists and curators for a fundraising goal of $20K.   

-10k for billboards (1k each)
-5k for 20 artists (250 each)
-1k for the 4 curators (250 each)
-4K for both nonprofits (2k each)

If we reach $50,000,   we will launch this project in a second city,  such as Washington, D.C.


OPEN CALL FOR  ARTISTS OF DIVERSITY

Half the artists in this project will come from an open call to be judged by Anne Verhallen and Barbara Pollack, founders of Art at a Time Like This,  Carmen Hermo,  curator at the Brooklyn Museum, Sophia Maris Lucas,  curator at the Queens Museum,  Jerome LaMaar,  trustee at the Bronx Museum and Larry Ossei-Mensah,  founder of ArtNoir.

Fundraising Deadline:  September 14th