Black Lives Matter: Art Worth Sharing

NYC local news site Gothamist just shared a beautiful drone video created by @mingomatic. In the video, a drone captures the eight Black Lives Matter murals that were painted on the streets of the five boroughs (although, as commenters pointed out, a ninth mural on Randall’s Island was excluded).

The sweeping drone footage captures arial views of the city landmarks that surround each mural before zooming in and tracking along the street for closeup views. The scale of the murals (big!) means they are only fully appreciated from a bird’s eye view, and the drone provides that view—and then some. Among the video’s highlights are the curvy and colorful mural in Foley Square, and the time-lapse footage of a mural-in-progress outside Trump Tower.

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OF COURSE, it shouldn’t have to be said that street murals are no substitute for systemic change. Just because Black Lives Matter murals have been painted all over the United States doesn’t mean that the work is done. We still need justice for Black people who were murdered by the police, extensive prison, bail, and police reforms, and much more. We may not agree on exactly what needs to be done, but we should all agree—at the very least—that much, much more needs to happen.

• Resources in the Fight for Racial Justice
• How To Support Black-Owned Businesses in the United States
• How To Help Protestors Fight for Justice

We can’t expect art-in-isolation to fix everything, but art can be especially effective when it works in tandem with actions. Art can soothe, enrage, inform, inspire, enlighten, motivate, change, and call to action. Art is powerful, so enjoy it, use it—and keep doing the necessary work.

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#blackartist #blmart