BALLOTS NOT BULLETS
Opening Night Reception: Oct 31, 2022 6-8 PM
Election Night Performances: Nov 8th, 6 PM-midnight
https://whiteboxnyc.org/2022/exhibitions/ballots-not-bullets/
White Box
is pleased to present Ballots Not Bullets, a contemporary art exhibition as timely as it is necessary, which will open its doors on october 31, with live performances on November 8th from 6 PM to midnight,, on the day of the 2022 midterm elections.
Ballots Not Bullets is an international multimedia exhibition inspired by an eponymous quote from Abraham Lincoln, delivered during the Reconstruction era following his famous Proclamation of Emancipation ayant mis fin à l’esclavage.
His clarion call entailed pleading with all American citizens to vote and exercise democracy rather than resort to violence that had almost ended the burgeoning American experiment during the Civil War.
Today, this exhortation resonates once again: the political climate is marked by a violent partisanshipmore present than ever, and democracy itself is under threat by those who believe that the 2020 presidential election was illegitimate because it was “stolen” from them.
Distrust towards the government
and it's institutions, intentionally cultivated by both domestic and foreign ideologues is not just exploiting the ubiquitous cynicism towards politicians
but erodes the greater rule of law;
for the incremental dismantling of democracy’s infrastructure, albeit already precarious, can lead to the slow introduction of authoritarianism in the form of those who see democracy as an impediment to their general will-to-power.
The rise of authoritarianism
in the United States is no mere left-wing Internet conspiracy, as it has reared its ugly head in many facets of social life that we have taken for granted:
among other things, the revoking of Roe v. Wade, electoral district manipulations (gerrymandering), the questioning of the Respect for Marriage Act — which guarantees legal recognition of same-sex married couples — and, returning to Lincoln’s earlier quote, the attack on the Voting Rights Act of 1965
Ballots Not Bullets intends to address these issues through an art exhibition that coincides with a pivotal moment: a time when the United States must either defend its democracy or slowly slide toward an authoritarian regime.
And the outcome largely depends on the 2022 midterm elections.
To paraphrase Abraham Lincoln: today more than ever, it is ballots, not bullets, that must make their voices heard.
Artists
| Carlos Aires Joseph Ayers Claudia Baez Brian Bellott Terry Berkowitz David Borawski Robert Boyd Luigi Cazzaniga Eteri Chkadua Dirty Churches Kerr Cirilo Rossa Cole Jim Costanzo Ken Cro-Ken Irina Danilova Micha Das Bach Alexa Frangos Peter Fend & Jenny Holzer Borinquen Gallo Rainer Ganahl Cris Gianakos James Hendershott Michelle Jaffé Enrique Ježic |
Andrew Ellis Johnson Julia Justo Mona Saeed Kamal Marie Christine Katz Suprina Kenney Sherry Kerlin Florencia Kettner Joseph Kosuth Marni Kotak Lusmerlin Lantigua LigoranoReese sTo Len Saverio Lucariello Julia San Martin Ferran Martín Raúl Martínez Eugenio Merino Igor Molochevski Simonetta Moro Jean Pierre Müller Ekaterina Muromtseva Qinza Najm Yasira Nun Elin o’Hara Slavick Eva Petric |
Pasha Radetzski Joan Reinmuth Yohanna Roa Miguel Rodriguez Margaret Roleke Tom Rose Barbara Rosenthal Suzanne Russell Franck Saïssi Simeón Saiz Ruiz Avelino Sala Julia San Martin Pedro Sanchez III Noemi Sjoberg Jesse Snader Robert Snikkar Ann-Marie Stillion Susana Sulic Matt Sullivan Sasha Sumner Jorge Tacla Dan Tran Johan Wahlstrom Chin Chih Yang and others |