Capturing Change at Kean University

By: Chelsey Jaipersaud  | Published by April 1, 2021

A thirteen year old’s first protest captured by an artist who led the protest was given a bullhorn and the opportunity to speak her truth, chanting “can I get a Black lives matter, when I say Black lives, you say matter” and from that moment carried the next fight against injustice.

The Capturing Change virtual event which took place on February 25th demonstrated and examined the power of visual art including painting and photography to express the experiences of oppression. Academic departments of Fine Art, Psychology, English, Political Science and others were encouraged to invite faculty and increase student engagement.

“We have to use our voice in life and we have to be able to find it and underline it even if it’s a little scary,” artist and performer Daryl Stewart said.

The event featured a guest panel including artist and Black lives matter of Paterson, Sir Moore, Kean student Jada Bautista, artist and performer Daryl Stewart, artist Carolina Rodriguez Meyer, HRI Director Lauretta Farrell, and former Kean Professor of the year Dr. Mia Zamora.

“We have to make inclusion a part of the conversation,” Stewart said.

These artists, although different, work to inspire change and find ways to break away from boundaries that have been set forth to exclude those who are identified as different in the eyes of the same people who’ve created separation over the years.

Stewart explained this idea of diversity and inclusion by using his own artistic analogy. “If you’re invited to a party, diversity is the invitation, but inclusion is when you ask someone to dance,” he said.

This idea of inclusion involves taking the extra step to learn about one’s differences and then embracing that person with love and acceptance. When this is done, that is when we can move forward, but until then we have to stay educated and dismiss ideas that are only acceptable to a portion of the world.

“I think people think the work is done when they bring a few faces that don’t look like theirs into a room and say okay we were kind, we remembered, but the idea of really listening is not an easy thing,” Zamora said.

It is so easy to do the bare minimum and call it a day. It is so easy to say “who am I to provoke change?” People think that they need to be someone of high status to create change, but the most robust leaders were once ordinary people.

These artists are all leaders in their own way. They willingly go out and generate a piece of work crafted with their hands and mind to demonstrate the dark moments in a more captivating way.

The world is forever changing and the reality is people do get uncomfortable with having to make changes that don’t fit into their lifestyle. That uncomfortability is their excuse to act out in certain ways that resemble unjust behavior.

“The truth isn’t always beautiful,” Moore said.

Moore shared that when it comes to capturing truthful moments it can be strenuous and uneasy, but it is important to capture these moments at different angles. They can include someone feeling distraught and tired during a protest.

That tiredness isn’t just a representation of how someone may be feeling that day, but how they’ve been feeling for years after fighting for their lives and all aspects of equality that tie in with it.

Kean University takes pride in the diversity that is so prevalent. This diverse community has been able to teach thousands of students powerful lessons through moments like this where they can join an event and hear stories about the importance of being a part of change.

“You can kill a revolutionary person, but you can never kill a revolution,” Moore said.

If you’re interested in viewing more of the artist’s work, please visit the links below.

Sir Moore: https://www.kean.edu/offices/human-rights-institute/human-rights-institute-gallery

Carolina Rodriguez Meyer: http://www.coralinameyer.com/

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