Mended Arrow

Poster design and printing by Mended Arrow (mendedarrow.com)

Organizing for social change can be the most aggravating act imaginable. One must deal with passionate people whom have viewpoints that - at times - are perceived opposing only by the players involved. In addition, attempting to be the mediator with incredibly intelligent people momentarily acting irrational can be a difficult task.

I have recently been grappling with this issue because activists can turn any social interaction into a campaign. Well, it isn't working because I am usually a skeptic and this is why. Once one becomes aware that objectivity is an impossible achievement by anyone; you begin to wonder how much information is truth, what is fabricated, what is exaggerated or is just half of "the whole story." After which you can only assume that all information is partially true. Then you have to ask yourself whether or not you are the best filter of the information and how you could even possibly gauge your ability to filter in the first place. However, this is all part of normal social interaction. Right? .. ...Right?

Anyways below is information about the event. I have faith that it will be an engaging experience. The purpose of both events is to function as a forum for people to express social topics they feel passionately about and covince you of joining them. Enjoy.

REPRESS IV: MAY DAY
An art exhibition on worker's rights

At Gallery5
200 W. Marshall ST
Richmond, VA 23220
804 644 0005
www.gallery5arts.org

Exhibition opens:
May 1st 7-11pm

Up through:
May 29th

My Virginia Commonwealth University Imaging II students will have screen printed and stenciled posters at the opening. A taste of their work can be found here

Parade info:
Friday May 1st, 2009
Join us to recognize the past & present
struggles of workers all around the world.

Meet: 7:00PM Clay Abner Park
On the corner of Clay & Brook Rd. in Jackson Ward

March: 7:30PM On the First Friday Art Walk

More info about the parade can also be found here

SHOW DESCRIPTION:

May 1st, International Worker's Day, celebrates an ongoing, worldwide workers' struggle. Originally, the international holiday was in remembrance of the 1880's fight for an eight hour work day during a time when workers were forced to work inhumanly long hours. Nationally, we fail to recognize this holiday, which marks the famous strikes for the right to a reasonable work day by an estimated 500,000 workers. The nationally spread strikes originated in Chicago.

The resilient Chicago workers' rights leaders: Parsons, Spies, Fischer, and Engel, were executed by the United States Government in response to a bomb being thrown at a rally on May 3rd. The rally was in retaliation to acts of police brutality, leading to the deaths of six workers and several wounded during the Chicago May 1st strikes. Their lives are celebrated through International Worker's Day.

This struggle is still relevant today with issues such as: migrant workers' rights, women's equal pay for equal work, sweatshop labor, economic hit men, economic imperialism and outsourcing. People travel to places far from home and their comfort zone to show solidarity with an international struggle for the right to be treated humanly in a collapsing system. We invite all artists who are involved in this struggle to exhibit your work in our upcoming exhibition, Repressed IV: May Day.

All of the galleries in Richmond's Downtown Arts District present special exhibits on the first Friday of every month. Next May's First Fridays Art Walk happens to be on May Day. So in light of this fortuitous coincidence our May exhibition will be a celebration of workers' rights through art, education and action!