From July 2023 to Sept 2023, I was one of ten featured artists to design a billboard for The End Youth Prisons Campaign at Legal Rights Center, to co-curate a City-wide abolitionist public art project in Minneapolis.
The project is part of Freedom Constellations, a growing collaboration between youth activists and artists imagining a world where all youth are free and youth prisons no longer exist. All artists received photos, poetry, writing, and notes for art direction by youth leaders to inspire their billboard designs.
Alongside the billboards, artists worked with youth organizers to create cultural organizing projects, bringing an immersive exhibition featuring almost 10 years of working with youth directly impacted by incarceration called #NoKidsInPrison to Minneapolis.
Billboard reads: In Our Free Future You Are Blossoming,
Here is a detailed description of the billboard:
A horizontal billboard stands outdoors against a partly cloudy, bright sky, overlooking a dense urban cityscape with modern buildings. The billboard is sponsored by Clear Channel and has a prominent brown-orange frame.
The central message of the billboard is:
"IN OUR FREE FUTURE YOUTH ARE BLOSSOMING"
- The words "IN OUR FREE FUTURE" are in white, large, sans-serif font across the top.
- The smaller word "YOUTH" is centered just below that in a thinner, white font.
- The large, bold, white letters of "BLOSSOMING" frame the central portrait.
The background of the sign is a dramatic night sky or space-like scene with bright stars, giving way to a field of sunflowers at the bottom.
Centered on the billboard is a black and white portrait of a young woman with curly, dark hair, wearing a dark t-shirt, looking directly at the viewer with a calm, subtle smile. Her image is layered over the background so the "BLOSSOMING" text partially frames her.
In the bottom right corner of the billboard, there are several hashtags in white, small font:
- #NOKIDSINPRISON
- #FREEDOMCONSTELLATION
Below the main text, in the bottom left, it states: "PAID FOR BY LEGAL RIGHTS CENTER" in small white letters.
The billboard is mounted on a stand, and below it, the skyline of Minneapolis, Tall apartment and office buildings are clustered, with a particularly tall, modern skyscraper on the far left.
