The Social Justice Billboard Project and NE SCULPTURE | Gallery Factory are delighted to announce that the National Academy of Design, Abbey Mural Committee has awarded support for 2021-22 Phase II production. This launches Phase II of the Social Justice Billboard Project, through February 2022.
The Social Justice Billboard Project elevates BIPOC voices and artwork in the Minneapolis community using the three billboards facing the intersection of 38th and Chicago, the site of George Floyd’s murder and memorial. The project was initiated in response to the murder and inspired by Peyton Scott Russell’s “Icon of a Revolution” mural placed at Mr. Floyd’s memorial site in the days following his death. Phase I of the project ran from July 2020 until the end of January 2021, entirely community-funded thanks to contributions and social media promotion from supporters.
The current three billboards with the work of Naima Green, Ivan B. Watkins, and Jessica Wimbley will be in place until the launch of Phase II. NE SCULPTURE is “very grateful to William Ransom, Peyton Scott Russell, and Melodee Strong for sharing their work in the initial round of billboards that went up July 2020 at the George Floyd vigil site on 38th and Chicago Ave.”
The Abbey Mural Committee is a group of National Academicians who convene regularly to distribute awards from The Edwin Austin Abbey Memorial Trust Fund for Mural Painting in America, first established in 1932. Founded in 1825 by a group of forward-thinking artists and architects (led by Samuel F.B. Morse), the National Academy of Design was created to promote American art and architecture. Moving forward, the National Academy plans to sponsor mural projects every year across the United States in partnership with different non-profit organizations.