MACON – Mercer University will host the second public event in the series “Economic (in)Justice in America,” on March 10 at 6 p.m. at the McEachern Art Center (MAC) at 332 Second St. in downtown Macon.
The University’s Center for Community Engagement, Department of International and Global Studies, Research That Reaches Out Office and the MAC are collaborating on the event, which is free and open to the public.
“This event is really exemplary, in content and form, of the programming we hope to support here at the MAC,” said Ben Dunn, director of the McEachern Art Center.
The topic of the discussion is “Creative Activism: The Role of the Arts in Confronting Economic Injustice.” The event will feature an interview with Charvis Harrell, a Macon artist whose work has been featured on Georgia Public Broadcasting.
“In marketing, people of color have been a commodity of ridicule and targeted consumers while freedoms of life and liberty have been replaced by the freedom to choose a brand,” said Harrell.
Selections from his series “Navigating the Economy of Hate” will be on display at the McEachern Art Center during the event.
Dr. Cameron Kunzelman, coordinator of fellowships and scholarships at Mercer, and Dr. Laura Simon, assistant professor of sociology in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, will provide a brief presentation about the role art and artists play in social justice movements in the United States. They will then co-lead a discussion with Harrell about how he uses his art as a medium for activism in confronting economic injustice.
“There is a long history of the intersection between art, racial injustice and economics in America,” said Dr. Kunzelman. “Charvis Harrell’s art, and the research that informs that art, is a powerful perspective of that intersection, and I feel incredibly fortunate to be in conversation with him at this event.”
The final event in the series is scheduled for April 7 and will address the topic of “Charity, Justice, and Power,” with additional details to come.
