Adeshola Makinde RELEVANT - WE DEMAND AN END TO POLICE BRUTALITY NOW!, 16 X 20, Silkscreen on Canvas, 2019 — Adeshola Makinde *RELEVANT - WE DEMAND AN END TO POLICE BRUTALITY NOW!,* 16 X 20, Silkscreen on Canvas, 2019

SaveArtSpace is representing artist Adeshola Makinde's powerful civil rights messages on billboards across the country where Black Lives Matter protests are being held.

SaveArtSpace is proud to bring more art to communities across America with the message WE DEMAND AN END TO POLICE BRUTALITY NOW! The WE DEMAND AN END TO POLICE BRUTALITY NOW GoFundMe raised over $22,000 which allowed us to install 29 billboards in 22 cities throughout the United States. These billboards were installed between July 1 and September 28, with the last ones coming down around Oct 31, 2020.

“This is from a series entitled ‘RELEVANT’. With this body of work I wanted to go back to the Civil Rights Movement (1954-1968); when African Americans were fighting for constitutional and legal rights that other Americans already had at the time. I particularly referenced protest signs from this era to spark a discussion of why they’re still relevant more than 50 years later. I want to show that far too often we look back at that time as if it was centuries ago, when in fact it’s a fight that’s ongoing".” - Adeshola Makinde.

“When I envisioned this body of work living on billboards I never intended for them to have the “PAID FOR BY SAVEARTSPACE” on them and neither did SaveArtSpace. The various companies that own these ad spaces demanded that these billboards have that on there so their name isn’t attached to the message. The LAMAR chapter in Nashville, Tennessee asked that watermark be even larger despite explaining that their colleagues had approved a smaller (& far more tasteful) version. Having your vision altered because of someone else’s fear of backlash sadly isn’t surprising. I wish calling for black & brown people to not be brutalized by police wasn’t a controversial topic. *looks up how much it costs to own ad space*”

— Adeshola Makinde

Curator

Adeshola Makinde is an artist based in Chicago, Illinois. He was raised in the Chicagoland suburbs. He got his start taking photos at parties, concerts, fashion shows and other cultural events. His work today tends to challenge the viewer to question and/or have a conversation with the systems they find themselves in.

Participating Organizations

Founded in 2015, SaveArtSpace is a non-profit organization that works to create an urban gallery experience, launching exhibitions that address intersectional themes and foster a progressive message of social change. By placing culture over commercialism, SaveArtSpace aims to empower artists from all walks of life and inspire a new generation of young creatives and activists.

Billboard Locations