Policing Justice
Credits: Alfredo Jaar 06.01.2020 18.39, 2022 Mixed Media Installation Overall dimension variable Courtesy Galerie Lelong & Co., New York and Paris and the artist, New York

Policing Justice


Portland Institute for Contemporary Art (PICA) presents Policing Justice, an exhibition and related programming with local, national, and international artists.

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Policing Justice Instillation View | Credit: Mario Gallucci

Dates:

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Exhibition Dates: February 23 – May 19, 2024
Gallery Hours: Thursday & Friday, 12:00 – 6:00 p.m. / Saturday & Sunday: 12:00 – 4:00 p.m.

Opening Weekend Events:

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Opening Reception: Friday, February 23, 2024, 4:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Walkthrough with curators and artists at 5:00 p.m.
Free / Open to the public / All are welcome
No reservations needed for the opening reception.

Artist Panel Discussion: Saturday, February 24, 2024, 4:00 – 6:00 p.m.
Moderator: Mac Smiff
Participants: Tai Carpenter, Robert Clarke, Alfredo Jaar, Kimberly Moreland, Sandy Rodriguez, Master Artist Michael Bernard Stevenson Jr., and Robert Trafford
Free⁠ / Reservations strongly encouraged due to limited seating



Additional Programming:


Symposium: Friday, March 8 at PSU and Saturday, March 9 at PICA
Free

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⁠Policing in Portland: A Community Conversation
This symposium will bring together panels of local community leaders for discussions on the history of police violence and racist policing in Portland, ongoing attempts to hold police accountable and reform policing practices, and burgeoning efforts to radically reimagine public safety in our communities. 

Keynote Address: Alex Vitale, Professor of Sociology, Brooklyn College, CUNY
Friday, March 8, 6:00 p.m.
PSU

“Policing in Portland: A Community Conversation”
Saturday, March 9, 12:00 – 6:00 p.m.
PICA

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Film Series at the Clinton Street Theater
Free / Click on the links below for tickets.

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Thursday, March 7, 7:00 p.m.
Reimagining Safety (2023)
Short: Is Portland Dying? (2024)
Q&A with directors Matthew Solomon and Cory Elia, moderated by Alex Vitale, following the screenings.

Thursday, March 21, 7:00 p.m.
Arresting Power: Resisting Police Violence in Portland, Oregon (2015)
Shorts: State of Oregon (2017), Defund the Police, and Practical Abolition

Thursday, April 4, 7:00 p.m.
Alien Boy: The Life and Death of James Chasse (2013)
Shorts: Just a Dog (2016), and Split Jury (2023)

Thursday, April 18, 7:00 p.m.
Do Not Resist (2016)
Shorts: Conditioned Response (2017), and The Hunted and the Hated: An Inside Look at the NYPD’s Stop-and-Frisk Policy (2012)

Time/Date TBD
Betrayal at Attica (2021)

Workshop: March 23, 2024, 4:00 – 8:00 p.m. at PICA
$0 – $200 / Click on the button below for tickets.

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Artist Power and Practices
Hosted by Don’t Shoot Portland and M. Martinez Photo, Artist Power and Practices brings together five different creators to facilitate a community conversation around the power artists hold and examine the ethics around creating. The event invites visual storytellers to discuss ethical practices while collaborating and connecting with other Portland creatives.

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Mapping the Pipeline Education Series: April 6, 2024, 12:30 – 4:00 p.m. at PICA
Free

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Mapping the Pipeline Education Series
Please join us on Saturday, April 6, 2024, for Mapping the Pipeline Education Series, created and organized by Buddy Terry and Master Artist Michael Bernard Stevenson Jr.

The Statistics Behind Mapping the Pipeline: 12:30 - 1:30 p.m.

Student Engagement at Jefferson High: 1:45 - 2:45 p.m.

Those We Remember: 3:00 - 4:00 p.m.

Podcast Launch & Listening Session: April 27, 2024, 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. at PICA Annex
Free

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Fight The Power, Do No Harm: The Story of the Black Cross Healthcare Collective 
Join us for an in-person group listening session of the new audio documentary about Black Cross Healthcare Collective (BCHC) – a Portland-based healthcare collective. BCHC held citizen science trials and found a remedy to neutralize pepper spray, which is used as the antidote to chemical weapon exposure in the streets. Produced by Jodi Darby, Honna Veerkamp, and Erin Yanke.

The Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives: We Keep Us Safe: May 7, 2024, 5:00 – 8:00 p.m. at PICA
Free

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The Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives: We Keep Us Safe
Join us on Tuesday, May 7, from 5:00 - 8:00 p.m. for MMIR: Keeping Us Safe: Community Safety Strategies from PDX Native Community organizers. Snacks and light refreshments will be provided.

Moderator: Adam Becenti

Panelists: Chenoa Landry, Alicia Spotted Eagle, and Polimana Joshevama

Mapping the Pipeline Education Series: Part 2: May 11, 2024, 12:30 – 4:00 p.m. at PICA
Free

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Mapping the Pipeline Education Series: Part 2
Please join us on Saturday, May 11, 2024, for Mapping the Pipeline Education Series: Part 2, created and organized by Buddy Terry and Master Artist Michael Bernard Stevenson Jr.

James Broughton aka Queaz Otti: 12:30 - 1:30 p.m.

Tacuma Jackson: 1:45 - 2:45 p.m.

Greg Brown Junior and Selena Ramirez: 3:00 - 4:00 p.m.

Partner Programs:

Presented in partnership with University of Oregon Department of Art, Department of the History of Art and Architecture, and Oregon Humanities Center:
U of O Lectures will be in Lawrence Hall, Room 115, 1190 Franklin Boulevard, Eugene, OR 97403, and will also be live-streamed and archived on YouTube

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Thursday, February 15 at 4:00 p.m.
"Codex Rodriguez-Mondragón"⁠
Visiting Artist Lecture with Sandy Rodriguez

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Wednesday, February 21 at 4:00 p.m.
"Teach Us to Outgrow Our Madness”
Visiting Artist Lecture with Alfredo Jaar
⁠*This lecture will not be available online.



Monday, February 26 at 4:00 p.m.
“Forensic Architecture: Art and
Activism Against State Violence”
Visiting Artist Lecture with Robert Trafford

Presented in partnership with Pacific Northwest College of Art (PNCA) and University of Oregon Department of the History of Art and Architecture:
PNCA lecutres will be at PNCA's Mediatheque at 511 NW Broadway, Portland, OR 97209

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Thursday, February 22 at 5:00 p.m.
Graduate Lecture Series: Alfredo Jaar

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Tuesday, February 27 at 6:00 p.m.
Graduate Lecture Series: Robert Trafford, Forensic Architecture 

Want to learn more? Sign up for PICA's emails to stay up to date!
 

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Policing Justice Instillation View, work by Alfredo Jaar | Credit: Mario Gallucci

About Policing Justice:

Portland Institute for Contemporary Art (PICA) announces a major forthcoming exhibition Policing Justice. Guest curated by Nina Amstutz, Associate Professor of the History of Art and Architecture at the University of Oregon, and Cleo Davis, local social construct artist, designer, educator, historian, and community leader, this exhibition examines policing practices in Portland, Oregon, and their relationship to longer local and national histories of oppression through the lens of artists who call Portland their home and those who have witnessed and documented police brutality across the globe.

The extended George Floyd protests in 2020, which lasted longer in Portland than in any other city in America and were met with over 6000+ documented instances of police use of force, serve as a point of departure to explore Portland’s history of policing in relation to racial, environmental, spatial, and juvenile justice. 

Local artists and activist groups reflect on these situated histories through a series of commissioned installations, including work by Don’t Shoot Portland, Master Artist Michael Bernard Stevenson Jr. in collaboration with Blue, and Cleo Davis and Kayin Talton Davis in collaboration with Robert Clarke and Kimberly Moreland. Complementing these regional collaborations, a selection of works on loan by Alfredo Jaar, Sandy Rodriguez, and Carrie Mae Weems will situate what happened in Portland in a national context. Policing Justice will also showcase a two-part video installation by the British research and arts organization Forensic Architecture, which includes an investigation into the Portland Police Bureau’s use of tear gas against protesters in 2020, and a new work produced for this exhibition, investigating the 2022 the murder of antifascist activist June Knightly, produced in collaboration with a number of June’s friends and fellow activists. The exhibition will be accompanied by an active programming schedule, including a symposium, film series, workshops, and panel discussions, which center on locally impacted communities.

 

Artists:


⁠Black Aesthetic Studio (Cleo Davis, Kayin Talton Davis, Robert Alexander Clarke, and Kimberly Moreland)

Don’t Shoot Portland (Tai Carpenter and Teressa Raiford)

Forensic Architecture

Alfredo Jaar

Master Artist Michael Bernard Stevenson Jr. and Blue

Sandy Rodriguez*

Carrie Mae Weems 

*Check out a behind-the-scenes video of Sandy Rodriguez's work in this exhibition.


Access

The exhibition Policing Justice contains installations with loud sounds and flashing lights, some of which might be uncomfortable or unfamiliar to some visitors and attendees. Free earplugs will be available at the gallery entrance. You may exit and re-enter at any time at no cost.

 

COVID-19

Anyone experiencing or exhibiting any symptoms of COVID-19—or who has been in contact with others who are—is asked to stay home to avoid the risk of exposing others. Masks are encouraged while indoors.

 

SUPPORT

PICA thanks the Art Dealers Association of American Foundation (ADAA) and the University of Oregon College of Design’s Tinker Hatfield Award for Innovation for supporting this exhibition. 

Media Partner

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