In solidarity

Kala Art Institute is an international artist community rooted in the local community. Today we stand in solidarity with the artists and activists, near and far, working for change.

We condemn the murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and the many others who have fallen before them. We acknowledge the legacy of slavery and historic inequities that are so apparent today. We reject systemic racism and recognize the tremendous amount of work to do going forward.

We feel the call as individuals and as an institution to listen and learn, step-up and act, and work together for accountability and change.

Kala’s creative space grew from a collective spirit in the 1970s, from artists coming together to share big printing presses, equipment, materials, ideas, and techniques. Before the printing press, printmaking was not considered an art form, rather a medium of communication.  How can we channel the possibilities of printmaking (as an art form or metaphor) in this movement for racial justice and support artists as changemakers?

In this time of resistance and uprising and in the face of the pandemic, we are here to support you. We believe in championing the voices of artists and activists and plan to work harder, together to make our community, city, and world more just and equitable.

With love,

The Kala Team

Places where you can find more resources and share your support:

• ACLU
• Anti Police-Terror Project
• Bay Area Anit-Repression Committee Bail Fund
• Black Earth Farms
• Black Lives Matter
• Campaign Zero
• Go Fund Me for George Floyd’s Family 
• I Run With Maud Fundraiser
• Justice for Breonna Taylor
• Minnesota Freedom Fund
• NAACP
• People’s Breakfast Oakland
• 26 Ways to Be In Struggle Beyond the Streets by multiple collaborators

For Parents:

• 10 Children’s Books About Racism And Activism To Help Parents Educate Their Kids
• Tiny Activists – Black Music Greats: 40 inspiring icons
• @biracialbookworms

From Alliance of Artists Communities:

• Mónica Marie Zorrilla, 600 Black Advertising Professionals Demand Meaningful Action From Leadership in Open Letter 

• Diane Ragsdale, With a country “on the brink” does it matter if your arts venue is shuttered? 

• Wear Out the Silence, Conversation Suggestions

• May Day Collective, 12 Things to do Instead of Calling the Cops
• Caroline Taiwo, Confronting White Supremacy in the Workplace

• Eleanor Savage, RE-Tool: Racial Equity in the Panel Process
• Robin L. Hughes, 10 Signs Of Institutionalized Racism And The Rhetoric Of “Greatness”

• Race Forward, What Is Systemic Racism?

• Racial Equity Tools, Organizational Change Processes