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The Daily Cardinal Est. 1892
Friday, March 29, 2024
Photo Courtesy of Tehan Ketema.

Photo Courtesy of Tehan Ketema.

#TheRealUW unhoods enlightening exhibit at Chazen Museum

Unhood Yourself: The Real UW One-Day Exhibition was gruesome gold. The stories told through various forms of mediums that included digital print media, graffiti, spoken word and visual art pieces told the reality that thrives on this campus today.

#TheRealUW is a movement that began from a string of biased incidents occurring on the UW-Madison campus just this year alone. The alarming truth is that there have been at least 55 reported biased incidents, not including those that go unreported. The goal in mind of #TheRealUW exhibition is to bring awareness and conversation among different people in the community. With a crowd that drew in over 600 people, #TheRealUW invites the University students and faculty to talk about these issues and to express the same level of concern as the students that were victims of these biased incidents. Holding nothing back, the students are here to unveil and demand attention to the agony of being a person of color on this campus. No emotion or stone will go unturned; this time, the truth with be unhooded.

This exhibition can be noted as the first of its kind. The Chazen welcomed the idea of having an abstract concept of visual art and performance to bring awareness to those that attend this campus. After #TheRealUW proposal was written and approved, the next step was the artwork. As I watched First Wave 9th Cohort members, Posse and PEOPLE scholars plan this entire show, the amount of work and dedication stemmed much further than just one night of performance. From screen printing to mannequin hunting for pieces like “#TheRealUW Reported Sexual Assaults,” Eneale Pickett has been a central driving force behind this entire movement.

Performances varied from Tiffany Ike’s “Matter of Time,” to an impromptu performance from OMAI First Wave Artistic Director Rain Wilson. The lineup was much more than just the words on stage. Developers wanted people to take something away from this exhibit, to continue conversation past this small time increment that we are together. “You will not erase me,” Rain Wilson proclaims in a global affirmation piece that reassures us that we should build homes for ourselves instead of building foundations for an institution that is not here to support us. Wilson reiterates why there is caution in being of color, but why there is also more power in breaking from the chains institutions try to put on us.

How can we move from these spaces of oppression into self love? Janetta Hill’s “CURAH” is a three-print collage that celebrates the idea “to care and protect.” Aside from the live screenprinting, Hill takes a new approach by making prints that everyone is free to take. As an onlooker, the foundation of “CURAH” may very well live past this one-day exhibition. After talking with Hill, she states her reason for the concept:

“I wanted to share the lessons that I learned this year battling with depression and anxiety with others, not because these lessons are from a singular experience, but a collective journey. Watching people engage with and take my work felt like a silent conversation, a dialogue between our spirits and bodies. It felt like I was saying, ‘I see you!’ and they were saying, ‘I feel you!’ I hope a safe space was created on the page, a space where people can return to for assurance.”

The impact of this show goes beyond this beautiful museum. It lies in the streets, in our classrooms and in spaces that we fill. The acknowledgement of what protest looks like comes in many different forms, and #TheRealUW does not limit itself to just one medium of expression.

It is important to acknowledge the women of color behind this movement. No longer will we stand by and witness the erasure of black women, in any medium. Jamie Dawson, Tashiana Lipscomb and Synovia Alexis are revolutionary women. Not only are these women freshmen, they’re actively pursuing an education while balancing the duty of being an activist.

This show was groundbreaking. To think that a show based on race would have a space in The Chazen Museum of Art, let alone Madison, Wisconsin is persistent progression. Further plans to expand and build this show are currently in the works. There is no stopping here. Having Buzzfeed, BET and The Huffington Post acknowledge #TheRealUW movement is just the beginning. The conversation will continue. The Unhood Yourself: The Real UW One-Day Exhibition is not about publicity, but rather is about existing in space. No longer will people of color be silent at this university. This campus needs a voice to remind this campus why none of its students are here on luck, but knowledge. We plan to educate this movement and take it beyond the realms of just this university. The protest does not end if we do not stop.

Writer Francisco Velazquez was also involved in the event, as he presented a solo piece and was a part of a group piece with fellow spoken word artists Kynala Phillips and Kennedie King.  

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