UMD Artists Capture the Spirit of Black Lives Matter
As Black Lives Matter continues to shed light on issues of injustice, violence, racism and systemic inequalities in the United States, University of Maryland students are addressing these challenges through artwork.
Every year since 1998, the Anwar Sadat Chair for Peace and Development and the Department of Art jointly host the Sadat Art for Peace Competition, calling for submissions on a timely theme related to peace and reconciliation.
This year’s theme was especially timely: Black Lives Matter. Seventeen students from the Department of Art submitted works, in both 2D and 3D categories. Winners were selected by a distinguished committee of judges.
“In engaging social and political issues of the day, artists often provide powerful perspectives captured by their creative work,” said Shibley Telhami, Anwar Sadat Professor for Peace and Development. “After students reflected on the theme of Black Lives Matter, the resulting art and descriptions—especially the winning pieces—enhance our public conversation about compelling questions of our time.”
The winning pieces from this year are:
Three-Dimensional:
First Place: Daniel Merkowitz-Bustos, “Intolerable”
Second Place: Milan Warner, “Little Identities”
Honorable Mention: Heidi Zenisek, “Chair”
Two-Dimensional:
First Place: Nia Parks, “Reclaimed”
Second Place: Randa Gahima, “Organization & Mobilization 21’”
Honorable Mention: Boma Tende, “Our Pain”
More About the Competition
The Sadat Art for Peace Competition takes please each spring. A first and second place winner is selected for both the 2D and 3D categories, and in some years, students have been selected for honorable mention.
The 2021 judging committee included Professor Telhami; First Lady Yumi Hogan of Maryland; Mrs. Sylvia Pines, First Lady of the University of Maryland; Dana Priest, John S. and James L. Knight Chair in Public Affairs Journalism in the Philip Merrill College of Journalism and Washington Post investigative reporter; Brandon Morse, Chair of the Department of Art; Shannon Collis, Associate Professor and Honors Program Director in the Department of Art; and Foon Sham, Professor in the Department of Art.
In some past years, the Art for Peace Competition has been held in conjunction with the Sadat Lecture for Peace. Winning pieces from this competition have been gifted to guest lecturers including the Dalai Lama; Nelson Mandela; Madeleine Albright; and Jimmy Carter.
Sadat Forum guests have also been gifted with art from this competition, including Sen. Chris Van Hollen, Zbigniew Brzezinski, and William Burns. This year’s Sadat Forum will take place on March 25th and will feature Suzanne Maloney, Vali Nasr, and Barbara Slavin. Past winning pieces, along with past Sadat Lectures, are highlighted in a book, The Sadat Lectures: Words and Images on Peace, 1997-2008.
Published on Fri, Mar 5, 2021 - 9:50AM