As part of For Freedoms 50 States Initiative Billings, I invited participants in our various events to create lawn signs. 

• Inspired by politician’s campaign signage, For Freedoms lawn sign activations encourage participants to produce and publicly display their own definition of freedom by filling out signs that say: Freedom Of..., Freedom From..., Freedom For..., and Freedom To…
• Signs were be installed on the Free Speech Lawn of the MSU Billings campus as part the end of the Free To Be Me: Diversity on Campus and during Artwalk Downtown Billings on the south side of First Congregational Church (corner of 310 N. 37th and 3rd

The beautiful What Freedom Means to You banner created by MSUB's Club Art Collective and the Freedom lawn signs that we are creating at the town halls  

For more information about this project: ​https://www.sherricornett.com/for-freedoms-billings.html

Free To Be Me: Diversity at MSUB
Part of For Freedoms 50 States Initiative Billings
Saturday, September 15, 2018  (2:30 – 4:30)
MSUBillings Student Union Building, Rooms A & B (lower floor and east through the cafeteria) and Free Speech Lawn
1500 University Dr, Billings, MT

• Facilitator: Reverend Dwight Welch/United Campus Ministry, 

• Community discussion about discoveries made while sharing our stories and identities facilitated by Rev. Dwight R. Welch of United Campus Ministry, and Parsa Hajy Abbasi (student from Iran), Tristen Belgrade (student from Rocky Boy (student from Chippewa-Cree tribe), Morgan Syring (MSUB Art Club Collective), Mitch Bohn (speaking from disabled student perspective), Jen Lynn (MSUB Women's and Gender Studies) and Patricia Vettel-Becker (MSUB Art Department Chair). 
• Parsa spoke about learning to acknowledge, not oppose, when people misunderstood him because of his language and that he chose to become an ambassador for his culture. Tristen spoke about learning to expect racism, but not to let it stop him from his goals, despite historical efforts to make his people extinct. Morgan grew up in small towns with a single mother who emphasized supportive, civil listening and the importance of accumulating knowledge of others, Mitch told us about how fellow students expected that he must be in special education because he is in a wheelchair, but that accessibility is growing on campus. Patricia and Jen said that, since 2016, there is more intentional inclusivity and efforts to be more vocal for humanity and human rights. Dwight suggested we watch MLK's "What is Your Life's Blueprint" speech to middle school students. 
• Inspired by politician’s campaign signage, For Freedoms lawn signs were available for  participants to produce and publicly display their own definition of freedom by filling out signs that say: Freedom Of..., Freedom From..., Freedom For..., and Freedom To…
•  Discussion followed by creation and installation of Freedom signs on the Free Speech Lawn at MSUB
• Facilitation assisted by Sherri Cornett (Artist/Project Director, for Freedoms 50 State Initiative Billings)

Native American Race Relations and Healing Series “For Freedoms”
Part of For Freedoms 50 States Initiative Billings 
Thursday, September 13, 2018, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.,
Billings Public Library
510 N Broadway, Billings, MT

• Moderator: Russell Rowland, Co-Director of this series and main contact for this event, [email protected].
• Russell Rowland led a discussion with former Northern Cheyenne Tribal Chairman and current tribal judge John Robinson,  a member of the Kit Fox Warrior Society and veteran of the United States Army as well as a participant at Wounded Knee and the occupation of Alcatraz, and Carolyn Pease-Lopez, who represented District 42 of the Montana State Legislature for four terms, where she serves on the Agriculture, Human Services, Judiciary, and Legislative Administration committees. She was recently instrumental in preventing the passage of House Bill 615, which would have allowed county clerks to refuse to issue marriage licenses to gay couples, on the grounds that this kind of discrimination would spread to the way she and her people are treated as well.She is a native of Crow Agency, 

Fitzgerald Clark reported the following live on Facebook:

• John Robinson pointed out that the separation of migrant children at the border reminds him of the separation of native children from their families at boarding schools and all of these children will face massive PTSD as a result just like generations of native children did.
• One big myth about Native Americans is that they all receive free money from the government. This is not true!
  
•  Carolyn Lopez spoke about intergenerational trauma and how it can have physical and psychological effects. There is a great need for trained trauma informed counselors and professionals in Indian country. Especially to work with the children. She refers to these folks as "people whisperers".
  
• Many people don't know that you can find colleges on tribal reservations. Chief Dull Knife college is in Northern Cheyenne and Little Big Horn college is on the Crow reservation.
  
•  Bethany Yellow Tail is a Crow and Northern Cheyenne woman who has made a splash in the fashion world.
  
• Carolyn pointed out that while there are seven reservations in Montana there are actually eleven tribes.
  
• John spoke about the quandary of well intentioned people coming onto the reservation without any understanding of tribal culture and more often than not failing.
  
• ​Carolyn Lopez speaks about the importance of Native languages in preserving Native cultures.
  

My latest thoughts on activist curating: "Beyond Hegemony"
... my essay for the RISE: Empower, Change and Action! exhibition catalog.
"I admit to a fascination with word play, linguistics, and derivations and that the upswelling of termininology that is aimed at moving us beyond our past—as with post-colonialism, post-capitalism, post-feminism, postmodernism, post-identity, post-heteronormativity—sends me down lengthy rabbit holes of investigation. While I do believe such exercises can expand one’s understanding, the most powerful and empowering actions and interactions come when we take the “Think Globally, Act Locally” motto to the intimate scale— sharing our personal stories and our art and in face-to-face
communication."
I am grateful to the writings, actions and suggestions which kept these musings evolving:
~Maura Reilly "Curatorial Activism: Towards an Ethics of Curating"
~Bently Spang, who recommended John Brown Childs' "Transcommunality: From The Politics Of Conversion to the Ethics of Respect"
~The artists from RISE, whose work supported these thoughts: Carolyn Doucette, Marisa Govin, Gina Herrera
~The perpetually stimulating work of Linda Nochlin
~And the lecture and conversation with Linda Nochlin, which Maura presented at the University of Sydney’s Curating
Feminism conference in 2014 https://vimeo.com/113864836
Exhibition curated by Gutfreund Cornett Art (Karen Gutfreund and myself), Suzanne Whitney-Smedt (Owner/Director, Whitney Modern Gallery) and Marianne Kennedy McGrath (Curator of Art at New Museum Los Gatos).
Whitney Modern Gallery, Los Gatos, California, July 18 – August 31, 2018​
​Reception: 12:30 - 2:30, Artist Talk: 2:30 - 3:30, Saturday, July 21, 2019
Catalog available via Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/RISE-Empower-Gutfreund…/…/ref=sr_1_5…
Info about the exhibition
https://www.gutfreundcornettart.com/info-rise.html

Sculpture in the Wild in Lincoln, Montana...  All of these works are reactions to the land, the space, the environment, the history of the area. International artists in residency with MFA students from U of M. It was fascinating to see and hear about how the community has been engaged in creating this park, supporting it, sustaining it, interacting with it. Kudos to the board, especially to Becky Garland, its president.
Photos:
Ceiling of the teepee burner - one of the largest old structures for getting rid of timber shavings and detritus before the invention of particle board and EPA regulations. Now the gathering place at the park and . . . with surprising acoustics.

A Gateway of Change (2014)
Jorn Ronnau (Denmark)
Materials: Ponderosa Pine, goldleaf, stone
Height: 5 meters, Length 30 meters,
Width 10 meters

Chris Drury (UK)
Artist-in-Residence 2016
Funded by Kendeda Fund and Tippet Rise Fund

Picture Frame
Jaakko Pernu (Finland)
Material: Spruce/Pine
Height: 6.8 metres (23 feet)

Tyler Nansen
BPSW/ University of Montana Graduate Emerging Artist
September 2016
Bat Beacons

House of Sky
Alan Counihan (Ireland)
Materials: Stainless steel, steel, pine
Dimensions: 5' x 2.5' x 29' (1.5M x .75M x 8.5M)

East West Passage (2015)
Mark Jacobs and Sam Clayton UK)
Materials: Lodge Pole Pine, Cobblestone
DEPTH: 4’6” ,LENGTH: 100FT, WIDTH: 24FT

Hill and Valley (2014)
Steven Siegel (USA)
Material: 30,000 lbs of newspaper, 28 pine lodge poles,
400 pounds of nails.

​Casey Schachner's "Stringer". Casey was the U of M MFA resident.

With recent tragedies, horrors and stories of hate and divisiveness, it is all the more important for us to share our perspectives, with whatever tools we have. As we know, art is a powerful way to start dialogue, to overcome language and cultural barriers.
At our Democracy show opening, a Turkish man came up to me to talk about the show. He was visiting his daughter in NYC, or more accurately, he was spending as much time in NYC as visa regulations allowed, escaping his beloved country due to the increasing fear and the loss of rights and democracy there. He was not an artist, but, that evening, he wanted to be in a place where democracy was being discussed, to be comforted that there are still safe venues to talk about concerns, about what is right and what is left, or remaining, of civil rights, human rights, dialogue. That brief conversation is why Karen and I do what we do with Gutfreund Cornett Art... creating opportunities for artists to start and add to conversations, to engage others to think more deeply about issues, to create community.​

What's Right, What's Left: Democracy in America
Phoenix Gallery, Chelsea, NYC
January 6-30, 2016
Curators: Sherri Cornett and Kren Gutfreund, Gutfreund Cornett Art 
Juror: Dr. Kathy Battista, Founder and Director of the MA Contemporary Art program at Sotheby's Institute of Art, New York

Artists with works in the gallery:
Nic Abramson, Ransom Ashley, Michael D'Antuono, Cat Del Buono, Justyne Fischer, Lindsay Garcia, Shawna Gibbs, Ruthann Godollei, Ingrid Goldbloom Bloch, Emily Greenberg,Gracie Guerrero-Bustini, Shreepad Joglekar, Sinan Revell, Monika Malewska, Victoria Helena Mihatovic, Kate Negri, Gina Randazzo, Nick Schmidt,  Laura Sussman-Randall, Dan Tague, and Eike Waltz.

FLOW: Interactive Exhibition and Community Project

Another big project ... another endeavor to encapsulate the many woven together parts of rewarding and meaningful community engagement. 

It began with a big, but, initially, manageable goal, given our backgrounds - to bring more people into the gallery and to engage them across departments, across the city and between the two institutes of higher education in Billings around the theme of water issues and focused on the Yellowstone River. Early on, we consulted MSU Billings' long-range plans, goals, & strategies and ... Leanne Gilbertson, a Ph.D of Art History and Nothcutt Steele Gallery Director at MSU Billings and me, an artist curator with a passion for community engagement, were soon neck deep in conversations with potential partners, who were enthusiastic and willing to sign on. 

The gallery was set up as a laboratory and nexus for exploration and dialogue with an exhibition of my Grottoes - mixed media wall sculptures with video meditations on water - and juried works by students and alumni. We commissioned two students, Bonny  Beth Luhman and Ariel Grossfield, to create an animated short about river users. Art Ed students discussed water issues with the Girl Scouts, Boys & Girls and other K-8 students, who then made 5 x 7 panels with their responses. Presentation of research by Rocky Mountain College students.  Precious MacKenzie, teacher of English at Rocky Mountain College, donated her water-themed children's books to the MSU Billings library, which became the anchor for pre-school readings there.  Poetry and jazz students held a water-themed reading and improvisation night. Northern Plains Resource Council and Eric Warren presented his film "Mixing Oil and Water" featuring conversations about oil & gas development along the river. Dr. Susan Gilbertz offered a course for students from both campus about the findings from the Yellowstone River Cultural Inventory, which was part of the 16 year, most comprehensive study in the world on a watershed, our Yellowstone River, which was the basis for our keynote symposium, which included Dr. Gilbertz' students, some of the key scientists of that study (Warren Kellogg, Burt Williams and Kayhan Ostovar)  as well as a beautiful argument for personhood rights for rivers. 

The amount of creativity and information shared and the community of collaborators, brainstormers, participants and supporters was a heart-warming overlay and reward for the intensity of coordination:  Gerard Baker, Sue Beug, Karin Calabrese, Reno Charette, Michelle Dyk, Teresa Erickson, Megan Fetters, Samantha Finch, Karen Gutfreund, Leanne Gilbertson, Ph.D, Susan Gilbertz, Ph.D, Ilene Goddard, Ariel Grossfield, Tami Haaland, Ruby Hahn, Joy Honea, Hannah Hostetter, Warren Kellogg, Luke Kestner, Korilynn Kessler, Carrie La Seur, Ph.D, J.D., Jodi Lightner, Bonny Beth Luhman, Larry Mayer, Precious McKenzie, Joel Miller, Patrick Mueller, Kelsey Nix, Carolyn Ostby, Kayhan Ostovar, Mara Pierce, Ph.D., Megan Poulette, Tabetha Rindahl, Brent Roberts, John Roberts, Maria Selvig, Stephanie Slavin, Rebecca Summers, Peter Tolton, Patricia Vettel-Becker, Ph.D., Eric Warren, Burt Williams, Patrick Williams, Dylan Woods and so many more who came to share their thoughts, listen and expand the dialogue around water issues, rights, access and conservation in our region.  

Project overview page with links to further details at https://www.sherricornett.com/flow-interactive-exhibition-and-community-project.html

When Priscilla Otani and I decided to piggy back on the success of her previous postcard projects for the Women's Caucus for Art and the United Nations, we had no long range goals other than to give women, men and children a chance to consider the impacts women have had on the economy, human rights, education, the environment, world health religion, the arts, sports, politics and peace. We were inspired by the work of the UN Women's  HeForShe campaign and its Beijing+20 program, celebrating the First World Women's Conference. 

The call went out and the cards came in - steadily and from around the world, starting with a post card making gathering at my house and including gatherings in the Bay Area and classrooms around the country.  The growing collection traveled, in 2015, to the WC and CAA Conferences, to the UN Commission on the Status of Women Conference and our International Caucus UN Program parallel event there, to Honey's Cafe in Red Lodge, Montana, and, in 2016, to the Torpedo Factory Art Center in DC, the Women's History Month Exhibition at St. Louis Florissant Valley Community College (near Ferguson), Arc Project Gallery in San Francisco and ... all were collected in our online gallery.  Some samples are above.

The resulting mosaic of cards is a rich and inspiring diversity of media and message and women! 

Thank you to all who nurtured this along its path, including Maureen Burns-Bowie, Janice Nesser, Maggy Hiltner, Kerry Wolfson, Cherie Redlinger, Michael Yochum, and Stephen Wagner.

More information and photos of events at https://www.sherricornett.com/women-do-it-traveling-postcard-exhibition.html

I am finishing up my home-made baba ganouj this morning and reflecting on the thought-provoking, conversation-inducing presentation (and delicious Palestinian food) by the staff (the director is Jewish) of #conflictkitchen during the Open Engagement conference in Pittsburgh last month. About how important it is to keep dialogue open between people, even if governments and organizations find it politically incorrect. And how the sharing of food during can assist in these conversations, such as the meals the Half the Sky: Intersections of Social Practice Art delegates shared as we discussed, processed and problem-solved our time and interactions in China.

"Conflict Kitchen is a restaurant that only serves cuisine from countries with which the United States is in conflict. Each Conflict Kitchen iteration is augmented by events, performances, publications, and discussions that seek to expand the engagement the public has with the culture, politics, and issues at stake within the focus region. The restaurant rotates identities in relation to current geopolitical events.... These diverse perspectives reflect a nuanced range of thought within each country and serves to instigate questioning, conversation, and debate with our customers."

​https://www.conflictkitchen.org/

Photo courtesy of conflict kitchen website

As part of the processing of our massive project in China, "Half the Sky: Intersections in Social Practice Art," several of the artist delegate leaders and I applied for and received a panel  at the annual Open Engagement Conference, the artist-led initiative committed to expanding the dialogue around and serving as a site of care for the field of socially engaged art ... this year at Carnegie Melon University in Pittsburgh. Here is the conversational blog we created for the conference catalog: 

In April 2014, artist volunteers from the Women’s Caucus for Art (WCA) created an exhibition and interactive events for women artists in China and the U.S. at Luxun Academy of Fine Arts in Shenyang, China, entitled “Half the Sky: Intersections in Social Practice Art (HTS:IISPA)” We were invited by the academy’s president and gallery director, who wished to create a dialogue between artists and their works about women’s issues. WCA has a 40+ years history of activist art, yet the choices about the collection of art and the events we brought to China were greatly influenced by the political and cultural restrictions there. Here is a conversation about our decision-making and reflections over time about our experience from some of the thirteen working delegates who went to China as key figures in this project

Blog participants:

• Sherri Cornett (HTS:IISPA Director/Delegate Artist, WCA International Caucus Chair, Partner/GutfreundCornettArt, sherricornett.com)

• Kay Kang (HTS:IISPA De-installation Coordinator/Delegate Artist, artspan/kaykang)

• Mido Lee (HTS:IISPA Technology & Language Director/Delegate Artist, cargocollective.com/midolee)

• Neda Moridpour (HTS:IISPA Event Leader/Documentation Team/Delegate Artist, Executive Director “Louder Than Words”, nedmorid.com)

• Sandra Mueller (HTS:IISPA Cultural and Community Events Director/Delegate Artist, WCA Vice-President/Special Events, profile/sandra-mueller)

• Brenda Oelbaum (HTS: IISPA Delegate Artist, WCA President, brendaoelbaum.me)

• Priscilla Otani (HTS:IISPA Logistics Director/Delegate Artist, WCA Treasurer, ARC Gallery/San Francisco Partner, mrpotani.com)

• Christine Giancola (HTS:IISPA Documentations Director/Delegate Artist, Webster University Adjunct Associate Professor and SIU/Edwardsville Photography Lecturer), christinegiancolaphotography.com)

 
PRISCILLA OTANI: We had a serious debate just prior to our social practice art interactive pieces. I recall that we felt conflicted and debated as to whether we should cancel or go forward with the performances. In the end, we decided to go forward. I felt our discussion, and what ensued, was an important milestone. Some of the unease came from a cultural sensitivity, a feeling of not wanting to impose Western values and standards on Chinese students, artists and academics who may not have the same perspective or readiness. I remember making a comment that our role was to “sow the seeds of discomfort,” to bring forth concepts and ideas that may be new, strange and uncomfortable. Of course I didn’t know if in fact we would have any impact at all, or if we would have even an audience. In the end, I felt very good about the events of the day. And after viewing the short video created by Mido Lee, I was surprised at how much of an impact we did have, and based on recent letters, how the women-based exhibition and performances continue to have on students at the Luxun Academy.
Nearly a year after our Half the Sky project, in what ways have your views and opinions about what happened with our socially-engaged events at the Luxun Academy changed or evolved?