Homecoming (for SJM). oil, acrylic, silkscreen and collage on canvas. 56 x 70 inches. 2021-2024

In a time when our nation—and the social fabric of the District—is experiencing deep division, artists are turning to collage as a democratic strategy to give platform to stories of rupture, repair, and reassembly. Rip! Tear! Collage as Critique calls on 23 DC-based artists who use collage as a conceptual approach to reconciling the fractured, fast-paced, and often contradictory stories and symbols of American history and modern life. The collected works stray from conventional approaches to paper collage, employing methods such as assemblage, quilting, bricolage, video, and photomontage that knowingly upset the boundaries of the genre.

Exhibited artists: Alanna Fields, Amber Janay Cooper, Amber Robles-Gordon, Andrew Kastner, Anne Bouie, Aziza Claudia Gibson-Hunter, Connor Czora, Darlene R. Taylor, Guayarmina Fernandez, Helen Zughaib, Jarvis Grant, Joana Stillwell, Joanathan Bessaci, Leniqueca Welcome, Lex Marie, Marc Choi, Mark Kelner, Matthew Mann, Michael Janis, Paula Mans, Rebecca Perez, Tim Tate, and Zsudayka Nzinga.
Curated by Michelle May-Curry, Ph.D., Curator, DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities