The People’S Art Show
Founder and Lead Director
The People’s Art Show is an indepenDently organized art showcase and fundraiser. Participating artists were given the idea to pick a fundraiser of their choice to promote near their artwork display. The show itself has been solely made possible by the donations of you all. We have a beautiful range of artists and each artist is connected to the other through their communities’ joys and historical struggles for justice. We aim to curate a warm and welcoming space full of compassion and love for creativity. We hope to give everyone the space to shine and be in community. Welcome to The People’s Art Show.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
The People’s Art Show is taking place in Waawiyataanong, the ancestral and contemporary homeland of the Three Fires Confederacy of the Ojibwe, Odawa, Potawatomi, and Wyandot nations. Facing mounting threats of warfare & insecurity from settlers, Waawiyataanong was ceded to the US government through the 1807 Treaty of Detroit in hopes of some form of protection. This land grab gave rise to the industrial city of Detroit that we know today. In making “Detroit” from Waawiyaatanong, 90% of wetlands from Wayne County were drained, and forests and prairies that existed here since time immemorial were cleared. Nevertheless, the enduring relationship between the Anishnabeg peoples & this land persists. We stand in solidarity with their struggle.
We also acknowledge the history of Detroit as a critical stop along the Underground Railroad. Known as “Midnight,” Detroit was one of the final stops as enslaved peoples sought liberation from bondage en route to Canada. Antonio Rafael, cofounder of the Detroit Sugarbush Project, notes “Abolitionists recognized the importance of cross-cultural solidarity in ensuring Black and Indigenous futures that would economically, culturally and spiritually thrive.” May we learn from the stories of Waawiyataanong.
These narratives of genocide, displacement, resistance & liberation feel all too familiar to people of the global majority. The People’s Art Show is an independent event, organized & supported by our siblings in solidarity with global anti-colonial movements. Our goal is to use art to amplify our voice in this struggle, give back to our communities, and realize our collective power.
The show was conceptualized & organized by Suha Qashou, Prudy Mattern, and Malak Ghazal. We would like to thank our friends, families, and communities for their support to turn this dream into a reality. Special thanks to over 41 grassroots donors who rasied over $1200 to put the show on. Extra special thanks to Dr. Maysoon Al-Hihi, Luma Qashou, Hashim Akhtar, and Raphique Barakat for their love & support. Thank you to Maro Kariya, Shiva Shahmir, and our friends at Spread Art for helping us create a space for our show. Thank you to Dearborn Fine Arts Club for promotion & community outreach. Thank you to Farah Sattar, for the delicious food, and to Reiham Gundy and Anthony Rassem for photographing the show.
We would like to thank the artists for sharing their voices & stories with us. Each artist in our show has a shared part in imagining a better future for us. Near each artist’s collection of work, there are QR codes with links to their portfolio, as well as a mutual aid fundraiser to a cause of their choice.
When we say globalize the intifada, we mean it. Globalize the uprising. Shake off the shackles of colonial power & liberate all of our homelands from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea, from Turtle Island to Kashmir, Congo to Guam, Lebanon to Puerto Rico, Yemen to Hawai’i, Sudan to Haiti, Kashmir to Rohingya.
Free Palestine. Landback. Collective Liberation for us all.