By Kayla J. Marsh
Staff Writer
A new exhibit that is opening at Brookdale Community College will tackle the issue of racism head on.
The Center for Holocaust, Human Rights and Genocide Education (Chhange) at Brookdale will host an opening reception for its new “Facing Racism” art exhibit on April 10 from noon to 2:30 p.m. in the Bankier Library, 765 Newman Springs Road (Route 520), Lincroft. The event is free and open to the public.
“We have seen events in the last couple of years highlighting the escalation of conflict between police and people of color. It is a topic that is constantly being brought up and it is really important to address it directly and strongly and we are bringing racism to the forefront of a lot of our programming this year,” said Dale Daniels, executive director of Chhange.
The “Facing Racism” exhibit is comprised of more than 200 interpretive “faces” that were created by students from more than a dozen area elementary schools, middle schools, high schools and schools for individuals with special needs over the last two months.
According to Daniels, this is not the first exhibit Chhange has sponsored to engage the youth community and get students talking and thinking about difficult topics.
A previous exhibit commemorated the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide (1915-17).
“We wanted a way to connect with kids and one way to reach out to youth is through this project … and this whole process is really about opening up a difficult dialogue with children of the community,” she said.
Daniels said the initiative began in January when Chhange held a workshop for area teachers and provided them with guidance and materials to begin a dialogue with their students about the roots of racism and its impact on today’s society.
According to Daniels, students were given oval-shaped foam discs and asked to express their own feelings and experiences through art. The finished pieces, using paint, sculpture, glass, yarn, plastic and other materials, will be on display in the Chhange gallery until December.
“One of the most difficult things was how we wanted to define racism and we decided we were going to go with (a definition) based on somebody being victimized based on a physical characteristic they cannot change,” Daniels said.
“The students are so expressive and it is not just the art that we have, but also an accompanying book that features a statement from each student contributor and the words they used to convey how they feel are truly amazing.
“Our youngest artists are very much aware of people being discriminated against and it is a very powerful exhibit to experience because you get the full spectrum of how different [ages] perceive the problem, what it means to them, what they want to see done and how they can help bring about change,” Daniels added.
For gallery hours, call Chhange at 732-224-1889 or visit www.chhange.org