The killing of unarmed Michael Brown Jr. by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson on Aug. 9, 2014, gave rise to a social movement that expanded to communities across the country and world.
Brown’s death elicited visceral responses of anger, frustration, sadness and grief, emotions rooted in longstanding tensions between police and Black communities.
A new exhibition now open at Cecille R. Hunt Gallery at Webster University reflects on events that took place in Ferguson and the St. Louis area nearly a decade ago.
“Ferguson and Beyond: Artistic Responses to a Decade of Social Upheaval 2014-2024” examines social and cultural responses, and largely features work created by local artists who took to the streets to demand justice and needed a way to navigate grief and healing.
"You have to have collective action to spur mobilization,” said Webster art history professor Terri F. Reilly, who curated the exhibit along with artist-curators Lillian Gardner and filmmaker William Morris. “You have to collectively act first, mobilize more people and as more people mobilize, then that is where real change can occur. So, if we look at this art from that perspective, it's the art and the artists that are really asking people to act."
Reilly also noted that, due to its subject matter, the exhibition is a difficult show.
"It’s very, very challenging work. It’s hard work to see,” she added.
This was top of mind for featured artist and poet Cheeraz Gorman before she agreed to participate. It took frank conversations with Reilly about how the exhibition would be handled for Gormon sign on.
“I had to settle into myself that if we're not going to address trauma and healing, and if the family isn’t involved, I would not be involved. When I found out that the family agreed to be involved, I felt more comfortable participating.”
“Ferguson and Beyond” opened March 22 with an afternoon artists’ lecture and evening reception. Michael Brown’s father, Michael Brown Sr.; stepmother, Cal D. Brown; Ferguson Mayor Ella M. Jones, and curator Terri Reilly shared remarks.
Morris said there was an outpouring of support from the community that he didn’t anticipate.
“Primarily, I was interested in exhibiting some work that previously hadn't been seen. And to be honest, I hadn't considered the enormity of the exhibition in terms of its importance to the public. It's huge,” said Morris, whose video “The Protest Project” is featured in the show.
“Ferguson and Beyond: Artistic Responses to a Decade of Social Upheaval 2014-2024” will be open until April 26 at Webster University’s Cecille R. Hunt Gallery from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday or by appointment. For more information or to set up an appointment, call 314-246-7171.
To learn more about the exhibit, and how William Morris and Cheeraz Gormon see their art as part of their individual contributions to work that is part of community healing, listen to St. Louis on the Air on Apple Podcast, Spotify or Google Podcast, or by clicking the play button below.
“St. Louis on the Air” brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is produced by Miya Norfleet, Emily Woodbury, Danny Wicentowski, Elaine Cha and Alex Heuer. Roshae Hemmings is our production assistant. The audio engineer is Aaron Doerr. Send questions and comments about this story to talk@stlpr.org.
