A reaction to the recent rash of gay teenage suicides across the country. Social change starts with you.
2/17 Third Thurs, 7-9 pm - Opening Reception
3/17 Third Thurs, 7-9 pm - Artist Talk and Reception
10% of proceeds to benefit P-FLAG: Parents, Families, & Friends of Lesbians and Gays
Social change starts with the individual. One gay teenager jumps off a bridge and thousands are motivated to share their coming-out stories.
One person can also serve as a positive symbol to effect social change. A woman keeps her seat on the bus and a social revolution is born.
By working to better the world, you actually make things better for yourself. Studies of collective action have shown that when people identify with a particular cause, they find the energy within themselves to work towards social change — they feel legitimized. Empowerment is not necessarily reliant on a movement's success even: victory occurs in the very struggle of self-expression and self-empowerment.
Initially intended to highlight issues of bullying and homophobia - both internal and external - the work in It Gets Better/Make It Better also deals with racial and gender identity as well as environmentalism.
Co-juried by Paula Tognarelli, Executive Director of the Griffin Museum in Winchester, Mass., this show presents nine artists from across the country working in media as diverse as painting, monotype, photography and LED sculpture to explore how individual struggles within a particular community can affect the entire community. One is many.
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