Using different media, Hayes sheds light on the human condition as it relates to working-class African Americans, as well as larger communities of men and women. Raised in the South as part of a family that watched the 6-o’clock news, read Ebony and Jet, as well as the local newspapers, Hayes developed a strong interest in picture-making—the basic ideas of looking, recording, and interpreting—and portraiture early on.

Washington’s “The Continual Struggle: The American Freedom Movement and the Seeds of Social Change,” is an ongoing body of artwork documenting the Civil Rights Movement and America’s historical struggle against segregation and other forms of race-based injunctions. The 23-piece exhibit vividly recalls a time when people were willing to go into the streets to protest injustice and inequality, according to the artist’s website. “With this exhibit, I hope to elicit the raw emotions from the atrocities African Americans struggled with in years past and bring them to the forefront in today’s cultural lessons,” Washington said.

Cultural identity in the United States has been long intertwined with its magnificent landscapes, from the dense forests of New England to the open terrain of the West. These landscapes extol the unique beauty of this country and relate to the first significant art movement in the United States, known as the Hudson River School. The artists who painted these American landscapes worked during a time of increasing industrialization and growth of technology—not a coincidence of history but a lens on ecocritical thinking of the time. 

Arguably, the most haunting work is Deer Dancer for Hyacinth (2001) by Rick Bartow.  (1946-2016).  A Pacific Northwest artist, he fought with addiction and post-traumatic stress that emerges in his dark compositions.  Here, his distorted male figure appears to be in a state of transformation, his head sprouting antlers.  The power of this large pastel, charcoal, and pencil drawing suggests the raw intensity of Austrian painter Egon Schiele’s naked portraits.

Participating artist from Italy, Nunzio Paci, shares his inspiration: "I watched Juliet of the Spirits many times. The artwork in the group show reflects my current exploration of the natural world and its connections with the dream sphere, nostalgia and memory, all themes in common with Fellini's oeuvre." Missouri-based artist Lauren Marx sees a connection between her work and Fellini’s artistic eye and cinematography: "I see similarities with the use of religious imagery, earthy imagery, baroque and fantastical themes. I can also see a slight connection between the composition of my piece and some of the beautiful compositions he created.”

Censorship could occur in several intensifying degrees. In France, censorship of images was always more severe than censorship of text because images were thought to have a more direct appeal to the lower classes whose literacy was limited. It was customarily exerted in one of two ways: normally, censorship was post-publication, meaning that if a text or image was judged offensive, it would be seized and the author, artist, and publisher tried, fined, and imprisoned. In periods of great instability, however, the more severe measure of prior censorship was instituted.

Sean Kush has been creating sociopolitical paintings and illustrations since 2015, touching on a wide range of modern topics and often featuring God and Jesus reacting. Sober since 2007, Sean used to be a homeless drug addict. After cleaning up, he began working in the rehabilitation field, helping drug addicts and mental patients professionally. Much of his crude and trippy subject matter comes from personal experience during and after his drug addiction, and his own sense of social consciousness.