MIA Exhibit Features Art Responding To Philando Castile Shooting

MINNEAPOLIS, MN — This June, the Minneapolis Institute of Art will present “Art and Healing: In the Moment,” an exhibition of 15 works by local artists in response to the fatal shooting of Philando Castile.

Castile was fatally shot in Falcon Heights during a traffic stop July 6, 2016. In the months following the Saint Paul native's death, Twin Cities artists created pieces in response to the tragedy.

"They gave some of these objects to the Castile family to foster healing and bear witness to the untimely death," the museum said in a news release. "Moved by this generosity, the family approached Mia with a desire to share these artworks with the public."

"Art and Healing" is a result of a collaboration with the Castile family, Mia, and an advisory group from the community. The exhibition focuses on the shooting’s impact on artists and examines larger cultural issues of racial equity in America.

"The work of these artists has made me feel like I’m not alone," said Valerie Castile, mother of Philando.

"There are times when I sit in my living room, grieving, but then I look around and see this art, and I know I’m not the only one affected by Philando’s death. That’s why I wanted this exhibition to happen—it’s about connecting, reaching out, having a conversation."

"Art is an expression of our shared humanity, and we must protect, nurture, and celebrate the work of artists, even when what they show us is painful," said Kaywin Feldman, Nivin and Duncan MacMillan Director and President at Mia.

"I am grateful to the artists and community supporters who have enabled this exhibition to occur at Mia. Our hope is to be ‘the people’s museum,’ and as such, we must represent all of the people, through both joy and suffering."

Artworks in the exhibition include:

• Sarah White’s video Raising Black Hope (2016), which embodies joy as representative of resilience
• Angie Renee’s Why (2016), a ceramic broken heart
• Video I.am.Mural by Xiaolu Wang, which traces the creation of a mural born out of resistance to the violence by 12 local artists
• Leon Wang’s poster Long Live King Philando (2016)

"Art and Healing: In the Moment" is on view June 17 through July 29.

Photo: William Bornhoft/Patch.com