Denver Welcomes Internationally Acclaimed Artists for Cities Summit of the Americas: Andrea Bowers, Justen LeRoy, and JR's Inside Out Project Take Center Stage

Powerful Art Installations Drive Awareness and Action Around the Climate Crisis

DENVER, April 20, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- 

WHAT:                                

Artists Andrea Bowers, Justen LeRoy, and JR's Inside Out Project present three powerful art installations and interventions to the Denver community. In partnership with the Cities Summit of the Americas (CSOA) at The Slate Denver Warehouse, each artwork is designed to provoke reflection, conversation, and encourage action to address the climate crisis.

WHO:  

The cultural warehouse features three renowned artists:

• Acclaimed artist Andrea Bowers' silk-screened Protest Ribbons are messages which bring urgent focus to social justice and our current climate emergency such as "System change not climate change"; "Forests are the lungs of the earth"; "Women and the earth have to tolerate a lot." Samples of Andrea's work can be found here.
  
  
• Multidisciplinary artist Justen LeRoy's multi-screen video installation, "Lay me down in praise" (2022), insists the Earth's aches and upheavals are entangled with Black resistance and liberation, and was previously shown at Mark Bradford's Art + Practice, with the support of The California African American Museum.
  
  
• Celebrated French artist JR's Inside Out Project, in community with the Climate Migration Council, will photograph young leaders from the Americas coming together in Denver to raise awareness for the 200 million individuals expected to be displaced by 2050 due to climate change, and the need for human-centered solutions. The portraits will be wheat pasted onto the side of the Slate Denver Hotel during the Summit to create a large-scale artwork showing solidarity for global action at a local level. The Inside Out Project's work can be found here.

The Cultural Warehouse at The Slate Denver Warehouse is curated by FloraJane DiRienzo, Executive Director of the Biennial of the Americas (The Biennial), which creates connections, builds community and inspires change across the Americas.

Dates/Times:               April 26-30, 2023

Location:                    The Slate Denver Warehouse
                                    1250 Welton St, Denver, CO 80204 

Artists Biographies:

Andrea Bowers is a Los Angeles-based American artist working in a variety of media including video, drawing, and installation. Her work has been exhibited around the world, including museums and galleries in Germany, Greece, and Tokyo, as well as the 2004 Whitney Biennial and 2008 California Biennial. Andrea is on the graduate faculty at Otis College of Art and Design. 

Justen LeRoy is an artist, singer, and community activist and is known as a man of many possibilities. In 2017, LeRoy launched SON. Studio which operates within his father's longstanding barbershop in South Central Los Angeles as a platform for the multi-faceted experiences of black men. LeRoy's work has been shown at multiple venues like California African American Museum and The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. He has a special interest in music and contributed an audio collage for the Hammer Museum's 2020 edition of Made in L.A. and has also performed musically alongside London artist Klein at New York's MoMA PS1.  Samples of Justen's work can be found here.

Inside Out, created by French-artist JR in 2011, is a participatory platform helping individuals and communities make a statement by displaying large-scale black and white portraits in public spaces. Through their "actions," communities around the world have sparked collaborations and conversations. Over the past decade, more than 485,000 people spanning across 149 countries have participated in the Inside Out Project. The project has reached all the continents, with over 2,300 actions created.

FloraJane DiRienzo is the Executive Director of the Biennial of the Americas (The Biennial). With a background in community engagement, audience diversification and meaningful partnership development, FloraJane's leadership role at the Biennial emphasizes building city-to-city relationships, promoting rising leaders and artists, creating educational learning opportunities and embracing diverse cultures. 

The Cultural Warehouse at The Slate Denver Warehouse
The Cultural Warehouse will take place during the Cities Summit of the Americas from April 26-30, 2023, at The Slate Denver Warehouse in downtown Denver, CO. The space will host more than 100 artists from across the Americas featuring music, dance, DJs, fashion, visual arts and mapping available for all summit attendees.

MEDIA CONTACT: Julie Walsh| [email protected]  or (419) 349-0488

SOURCE Cities Summit of the Americas