By Katie Posey
The murder of George Floyd in May, 2020 sparked a re-emergence of anti-racist activism in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, exhausting people across the country — especially those directly impacted by racial injustice. The movement occurred as pandemic death tolls were rising exponentially, causing nationwide distress.
Now, an exhibit at UC Santa Barbara documents the local community’s response.
“I think there was so much pressure from fear of the virus, economic collapse, political turmoil, and a never-ending cycle of violence and injustice that peaked again in the middle of it all, that everyone reached their limit,” said Calli Force, a UC Santa Barbara library archivist.
Force, along with librarians Paige Sundstrom, and Des Alaniz put together an exhibition called A Call to Action: Documenting Santa Barbara’s Art & Activism. It highlights the Santa Barbara community’s experience during the pandemic, in an effort to support these social justice movements and narrate history as it happens.
UCSB sociology professor Jean Beaman submitted a photo of chalk art on the corner of Anacapa and Arlington streets in downtown Santa Barbara.
“I hope people are able to make the connection that the story being told and the way it actually happened are often very different things,” said Force. “Documenting their stories and ensuring their histories are recorded in their own words is a critical way to keep social justice movements alive.”
The exhibit contains art submitted by Santa Barbara residents, including UCSB students and faculty. Art Department assistant professor Alex Lukas began documenting highway message signs at the beginning of the pandemic that ran messages such as “Help save lives.” His collection of photographs is among the photography offerings in the exhibit.
Local artist Elisa Ortega Montilla tells the story of her pandemic experiences through woodwork. She created objects in walnut and poplar wood, such as chocolate bars with colorful wrappers and a notebook, that were crucial to her survival during the California shelter-in-place order.
Others took on social injustice, such as police brutality, racial inequality, and the killing of George Floyd. Two of the largest artworks in the exhibit are 4 foot by 4 foot mixed media collages made mostly out of decommissioned public school library books, one focusing on pop culture and the other highlighting racial injustice in the United States. Both were submitted by artist Johnny Onionseed.
The exhibit originally stemmed from a desire to showcase nontraditional art forms, said Des Alaniz, one of the organizers. “And then the pandemic started and we asked Calli Force to join us to make this exhibit happen. She had started the Santa Barbara community Black Lives Matter project and the COVID-19 community archives project.” The team then shifted its focus to exhibiting the experiences of minority communities, and decided to give participants the opportunity to tell their stories using whichever mediums they choose.
Sundstrom, one of the curators, feels it’s fitting that the exhibit displays works in different mediums, from infographics to written work and audio visual work, as well as visual art such as photos, zines, and collages. “[This] speaks to the different ways folks choose to express their experiences,” she said.
Local artist Elisa Ortega Montilla submitted a collection of objects made out of wood, such as chocolate bars, presenting undervalued objects that became meaningful to her during the pandemic.
Sociologist Jean Beaman, who is part of UCSB’s Center for Black Studies Research, supplied a photo of chalk art on the corner of Anacapa and Arlington streets in downtown Santa Barbara, where members of the community listed the names of those who had lost their lives due to police violence.
The exhibit seeks to awaken those who don’t consider themselves affected by racial justice movements, said Alaniz, to break through the widespread public exhaustion, and to encourage viewers to understand structural inequality from the perspective of those directly affected.
“Calls to action were made over and over, and there was little to no follow through from city officials. It's exhausting, especially for the folks directly impacted,” said UCSB librarian Sundstrom.
The library team considers part of its mission to give those underrepresented in the community, such as the Latino and Black residents, a voice and an opportunity to creatively tell their stories.
“I don’t think anyone is voiceless, it's a matter of whose voices are considered important and legitimate,” Alaniz said.
The exhibit also has interactive components that offer viewers the chance to become part of the exhibit. Visitors can find colored beads that they can place next to collections to express how each one makes them feel.
“It’s important for participants to see how other people feel about a piece of art,” said Force, “My hope is that someone seeing different colors representing all these different emotions about the same piece makes them stop and think about their own context, their own place in this community and in the world, and how they relate to others.”
The exhibit will be on display in the Special Research Collections floor at the UCSB library until June 2022.
The digital collection can be accessed online on the UCSB Library’s website.
The call for submissions remains open, and the team will continue to add new works to both the physical and digital versions of the exhibition.
Katie Posey is a third year UC Santa Barbara student majoring in Communication. She is a Web and Social Media Intern for the Division of Humanities and Fine Arts.