Outrage to Change Project
Listen. Learn. Act.
“We believe in a few very important values. First, we should support artists in as many ways as possible, because art matters; it heals and empowers. Second, we believe that life is better when it is diverse and when everyone is included…”
This project was initiated following the murder of George Floyd, to amplify the voices of the Black community. We stand with #Blacklivesmatter and BIPOC artists, knowing we are not the experts in this moment and we are late to the fight. We will continue to listen and to do better.
The Artists
Pop Up Exhibit opens July 1, 2020 in Downtown Ames.
Artist: Jordan Brooks
Location: Octagon Community Gallery Window, 427 Douglas Ave.
Funded by: Octagon Center for the Arts
Jordan Brooks (he, him, his), 30, Black.
Artist and Diversity & Inclusion Trainer.
IG: knwslf.art, FB: Knwslf Art See Jordan’s video about this project here.
“My name is Jordan Brooks, founder of self.uneARThed LLC and Higher Education professional. I am an artist and diversity & inclusion trainer. I blend the creative process with developmentally engaging activities to guide you in unearthing your authentic self and creating environments that allow us all to be. I create to express myself, to make sense of this world, to breakdown and reconstruct my identity, and to understand my impact on my environment and the people I encounter. self.uneARThed is about using art to KNWSLF (knowledge, wisdom, self love, fellowship) and committing to the process. The product is inevitable. You are a masterpiece!”
Artist: Jamila Johnson
Location: Photosynthesis Window, 317 Main St.
Funded by: You! via GoFundMe
Jamila Johnson is a Black artist from eastern Iowa. Jamila graduated from Iowa State University in 2019 and now works for the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Ames as their Religious Educator and contracts as a teacher with the Des Moines Art Center. Her work primarily presents the disparity between the everyday lives of Black Americans, particularly children, and their non-black counterparts. Jamila works primarily in watercolor and pen illustration and woodblock relief printmaking. By juxtaposing sublime landscapes and mundane tasks with the dismal everyday reality of the underrepresented, Jamila explores the fantastical idea of safety and equity in the U.S. for all people.
Artist: Cameron Gray
Location: Design on Main Window, 203 Main St.
Funded by: You! via GoFundMe
Artist: Jamie Malone
Location: Morning Bell Coffee Roasters Window, 111 Main St.
Funded by: You! via GoFundMe
Artist: Juliana Jones
Location: Della Viti window, 323 Main St.
Funded by: You! via GoFundMe
Artist: Amara Agba
Location: Gilger Designs Window, 236 Main St.
Funded by: You! via GoFundMe
Artist: Zachary Frazier
Location: Fringe Salon window, 110 Main St.
Funded by: You! via GoFundMe
Artist: Kaleb Stevens (KUB)
Location: Octagon Shop, 413 Douglas Ave.
Funded by: You! via GoFundMe
Poet, curator, spacemaker Kub Stevens is a child of the Midwest. He works tirelessly to connect people with the ideas of tomorrow.
Artist: Justin Roberson
Location: Worldly Goods window, 223 Main St.
Funded by: Ames Community Arts Council
I create to heal.
Part of my Healing process is to make art because it allows me to be vulnerable with myself, while cathartically showing my talents. You’ll primarily see poetry and visual arts as my means of introspections and expression.
I also have taken on silent revolution, to reimagine (as used in critical race theory). To reimagine a universe where healthy black males thrive mentally, physically, ‘spiritually, and financially.
Please continue to explore my healing with me and hopefully, find a reference or two for creating your own process. I invite you to join me on this overall journey to Hustle and Heal.
#HealingBlackBoy is the pathway for the written words that inspire trauma stewardship I’m using to heal.
#CreateOrFade is the pathway for visual trauma stewardship I’m using to move the energy through.
The dues of life (stress, rent, responsibilities) don’t stop and nor should our healing. Join me on this journey and share with people who may use me as reference in their own journey. You don’t have to be black to learn from or appreciate me. Just know my perspective is by, of, a Black AND Male.
DISCLAIMER : I AM NOT A LICENSCED COUNSELOR NOR PHYISICIAN! ANY AND ALL THOUGHTS,
YOU MAY ASSOCIATE WITH THESE FEILDS IS PURELY ANECDOTAL AND MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE.”
Artist: Brandon Spencer
Location: Avec Design window, 131 Main St.
Funded by: You! via GoFundMe
Brandon Spencer; or as he is known creatively, B13 is a 22 year old native from the West Side of Chicago. As a self taught photographer and writer, B13 focuses on showcasing the beauty of black faces and voices through his work. He is a current senior at Iowa State University majoring in Apparel Merchandising while minoring in Journalism, with the main focus of his studies being Fashion Communication. B13 is the past Editor-in-Chief of SIR Magazine, which is the only Multicultural Publication focusing on student art and creative writing at Iowa State University. Under his creative leadership as E-I-C the publication produced 4 issues which took the campus by storm.
Artist: Siriaco Garcia (Siricasso)
Location: Pure Luxe Salon window, 319 Clark Ave.
Funded by: You! via GoFundMe
Siricasso is a multidisciplinary artist from Eagle Pass, Texas based in Ames, Iowa. He draws artistic inspiration from the rich Latino heritage of his family and culture. Acrylic paintings, large murals and apparel give him freedom to create whimsical, terrifying, fantastic visions of his life amongst people searching for hope and identity. His work has been featured in Iowa in a solo exhibit at Marshalltown Community College, on murals at Morningbell Coffee and Premier Athletic Training in Ames, on the custom-painted wrestling shoes of Olympic-hopeful Kyven Gadson, and at the Reliable Street collective in Ames. He is a co-founder of the Save the Art movement, an artist collective that provides resources and professional opportunities to young and underrepresented artists in Central Iowa
Artist: Oni Wright
Location: Skunk River Cycles window, 308 Main St.
Funded by: You! via GoFundMe
Oni Wright (she/her/hers) is a Graphic Design senior at Iowa State University focusing on graphic visuals and videography from St. Louis, MO. Upon graduation, she plans to pursue a career in video editing. During her time at Iowa State, she has been given the opportunity to present her “Liberty For All” series in the 2019 APEX Art Exhibit, and create a mini research film with peers in the NCORE-ISCORE 2019-2020 cohort, titled, “Where Are You REALLY From-NCORE-ISCORE,” which is now on Youtube. Viewers can see how Oni incorporates her values in her work such as the representation of people of color and the people’s right to vote. Oni is a music loving, skateboarding, anime OBSESSED young Black woman who feels most heard when creating art.
Artist: Jill Wells
Location: Ames Public Library window, 515 Douglas Ave.
Funded by: Ames Public Library
Jill Wells is a Midwest artist who is known for her dynamic and colorful narrative paintings. Jill Wells lives and creates her art in Des Moines. Wells has been an artist for more than 18 years, with public and private works in Iowa, Mississippi, Arizona and New Orleans. Her artwork is represented in the permanent collections of: Iowa Lutheran Hospital, Blank Park Zoo, YMCA of Greater Des Moines, The Annette Nature Center, Polk County Jail (west wing) and Creative Visions Human Development Center. Jill Wells is a Drake University Alumni with a Bachelor in Fine Arts Degree.
Artist: Miradieu Joseph
Location: KHOI Radio window, 410 Douglas
Funded by: Ames Community Arts Council
Miradieu continues to struggle to find ways to use his art as a means of communication to convey his internal struggles. He truly because art and communication with change the world for the better.
Born in St. Marc, Haiti and raised in Lake Worth, Florida, Miradieu Joseph’s style is inspired by the colors of his homeland and those he first noticed when he arrived in the United States. After graduating from Wartburg College in 2001 With a B.A. in Social Work and four years as an All-American and National Championship hurdler, he returned to his childhood use of art as a vehicle for expressing life’s events.
Miradieu’s acrylic paintings have been described as colors swirling with disconnected body parts. He takes his style cues from Impressionist artists like Vincent Van Gogh, neighborhood graffiti artists, and artist friends he has met over the years.
Miradieu continues to find ways to use his art as a means of conveying his internal struggles and his wish to change the world for the better. He lives in Des Moines, Iowa with his beautiful family and coaches Track and Field at Grand View University.
Artist: Miguel Sanchez
Location: Edward Jones window, 208 Main
Funded by: You! via GoFundMe
Artist: Francisco Sanchez Ordaz
Location: Downtown Deli window, 328 Main
Funded by: You! via GoFundMe
My Name is Francisco Sanchez Ordaz, I’m from Marshalltown, Iowa and I’m currently a senior in Interior Design at Iowa State University. I’ve always had a passion for drawing ever since I could remember, as time passed that passion expanded into Photography, Ceramics, Painting, and Architectural Design. My paintings focus on Human figure, particularly the face. I studied abroad in Rome, Italy last semester where I took oil painting and drawing classes. Being in Rome enforced my love for more traditional style paintings through the use of human figure.
Artist: Helen Nabuduwa Barton
Location: Linsey Loo’s window, 312 Main
Funded by: You! via GoFundMe
“When I first heard about this project I knew the voices that need to be heard would be heard, I imagined the empowerment, and affirmation for people of color and the ways white community members would be challenged and stirred to act…finally. I wanted to add my voice to this powerful discourse but didn’t know where to begin……
My name is Helen Nabuduwa Barton. I am Ugandan and American. I am a multiracial womxn, feminist, advocate, and listener. Being Ugandan is the identity I hold on to most prominently and yet it is also the identity people try to rip away most often. As the Black community, our ancestors have always fought white supremacy and patriarchy, my mother’s family fought British colonialism while the ancestors of my friends’ parents’ have been fighting slavery and its aftermath for generations. And now, as we live each day trying to fulfill their legacies our very existence has become an ever-stronger resistance, so listen to us closely, BLACK LIVES MATTER.”
