Hands Up: A Community Portrait
Lobby Installation // Hertz Stage Lobby
October 8-31, 2021, available to view pre- and post-show
Hands Up: A Community Portrait is a community art project created in conjunction with the production of The New Black Fest’s Hands Up: 7 Profiles, 7 Testaments. Images of hands that circulate in our society can reduce the experience of Blackness to either a “hands up” symbol of victimization or the fist symbol of resistance. These portraits go beyond this codified binary to use hands as a motif for personal storytelling. The exhibit features seven participants from local community organizations who share their stories of resilience and joy through the expressive and functional things that their hands do in their lives. It includes access to a digital archive, where you can hear the voices of the participants from their interviews. This exhibit is on display in the Hertz lobby during the run of Hands Up.
