Art as healing.
Ampersand recognizes the weight of the changing world we live in. Leaning into celebrations of freedom & justice is something we’ve never shied away from.
This Juneteeth, we took a short dive into the inspiration that comes from the healing power of gathering around independence. So much can be expressed through color, images & a palette brushed in with hope for a chance to change the way we think about who we are, as human beings.
A 5,000-square-foot mural in Galveston, Texas, at the spot where Gen. Gordon Granger issued the orders that resulted in the freedom of more than 250,000 enslaved Black people in the state. Reginald C. Adams of Houston is the artist.
Much like June 1865, this moment, the one we live in now, this is a big moment of reckoning. Color and heavy weighted blacks are meant to provide a contrast from pain and happiness. The celebration is weighted and poignant, true liberation personified. Diana Ejaita is the artist.
Leaps of freedom into the arms of the world worth living. The motion, and blur in this piece gives it movement as if to accentuate the perpetual motion of those freed from bondage, forward, always forward. Romare Bearden is the artist.
Commemorating the 155th anniversary of Juneteenth, Google replaced their homepage logo with a powerful music video narrated by LeVar Burton in 2020. We look forward to this year’s update.
