Brand Library & Art Center welcomes Let Me Talk

Let Me Talk,a provocative exhibition featuring24 artists who have something to say.

This exhibit, curated by Ada Pullini Brown and Jill Sykes, will be at the Brand Library & Art Center from January 22, 2022 - March 19, 2022. Let Me Talk includes a special edition portfolio of 52 new prints called Utopia/Dystopia, which were produced at the famed East Los Angles printmaking workshop, Self Help Graphics.

“In times of dread, artists must never remain silent. This is precisely the time when artists go to work. There is no time for despair, no place for self-pity, no need for silence, no room for fear. We speak, we write, we do language. That’s how civilizations heal.” - Toni Morrison

Morrison's statement was written for an article in The Nation after the re-election of George W. Bush in 2004. Curators Ada Pullini Brown and Jill Sykes found Morrison's call for the need of art "in times of dread" was the impetus for this exhibition. It is artists who serve as a barometer of our time. Their work can act as a catalyst for discourse — leading to action and change.

The works in Let Me Talk point to the many issues that are a part of the current, deeply dark, and coarsened public discourse. The common thread explored in the works by these artists is the desire not to despair or remain silent.

A catalogue with an essay by Professor Betty Brown, Ph.D. will be published for the exhibition and available for free to the public.

The exhibit will be available for viewing starting Saturday, January 22nd at Brand Library & Art Center, 1601 West Mountain Street, Glendale CA, 91201. Social distancing and masks are required for all visitors.