“Redefining Identity,” an exhibition celebrating students’ art that challenges society’s definitions of identity and redefines those narratives, runs from Jan. 9-21.
A reception for the exhibition is planned for 7 p.m. Jan. 16 at the Duderstadt Gallery. The exhibition, which features creations by undergraduate and graduate students across the U-M campus, will be hosted by Stamps in Color, a Penny W. Stamps School of Art & Design student-led organization.
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Stamps in Color is committed to expanding the “creative, social and professional opportunities” of peers, faculty and staff of color at Stamps. Judges for the “Redefining Identity” exhibition have looked for art that “best portrays an individual’s sense of self awareness, ability to challenge misconceptions of ethnic groups and best expression of personal or group identities.”
Stamps in Color Chairwoman Stephanie Brown said the exhibition’s theme is broad enough so that artists of different media could submit their creations. She said it gives students the opportunity to redefine their identity and debunk stereotypes, myths or micro-aggressions that they face in their daily lives.
“Most social rights movements are against oppression, and when you falsely identify someone or when someone experiences hate crimes or racism or anything that doesn’t allow them to be themselves, that can have a bad reflection on their performance and just how they feel,” Brown said.
“So having an exhibition like this, giving students the opportunity to not take what society has to say, not take what media has to say or what other people have to say about themselves, but to declare it for themselves, is a type of self-confidence that I hope will spark conversation around the works.”
