Together, in collaboration with For Freedoms, we aimed to create an exhibition of work that explored the concept, implications, questions and ramifications of appropriation. Artists chose to explore the theme via cultural appropriation, land and image appropriation, through language, heritage, style and labor. Collectively, we wrestled with who benefits or profits from appropriation, if, how, and when appropriation is harmful, what its consequences are and how that may differ across the landscape of personal, societal, and political identities. Read more about RANSOM here on Seacoast Online.

 

This show was strictly a "not for sale show" meaning no artist or organization profited from the work created for this exhibition. We feel strongly that this topic will be explored more honestly and more fully outside of the realm of capitalism. That being said, we wholly support artists making a living from their work - but the intent of this particular effort was to provoke thought, conversation, and dialogue only.

 

We believe that art is a means to challenge power, privilege, and oppression. Therefore, we explicitly sought artists that represent a diverse range of thought, experience, and background. As artists, and those who engage with the arts, it is our responsibility to question and respond to the world around us. It is our duty as members of our community to participate in meaningful discourse, to listen and learn from one another.