SPEED ART MUSEUM ANNOUNCES SHAUNTRICE MARTIN TO BE COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS ARTIST-IN-RESDIENCE

Said Shauntrice Martin: “This residency will be a revelation. I want to explore the radical imaginations of Black West End residents from different generations through photography, poetry, prose, and paint. My people are a major influence in my work, so I want to highlight our hopes and holdups.”

“The Community Connections Residency Program is part of the Speed’s desire to reach out, amplify, and empower the people by collectively creating a platform for artists of all kinds to share their stories and express perspectives on social and personal topics,” said Toya Northington, the Speed’s Community Engagement Strategist. “Our intention is to co-create a self-sustaining community art program that can be critical, uplifting, progressive, and transformative for the Russell Neighborhood.”

Shauntrice Martin is the director and the founder of #FeedTheWest, a food justice program sponsored by Black Lives Matter Louisville and Change Today, Change Tomorrow. After studying food apartheids in Belize, Mexico, Trinidad & Tobago, and across the U.S., she started Black Market KY to address food insecurity. She has earned numerous awards including Louisville Forty Under 40, The Coalition of Black Excellence Impact Award, and Silicon Valley Business Journal Woman of Influence.
 
"Shauntrice’s work within the Russell community continues to evoke the joy, passion and love she has for the Black community," said Brittany J. Thurman, Community Relations Manager. "There is truth within her art, and it is a truth that tells a history. This is the perseverance of Black elders and youth. We are eager to embark upon this work with Shauntrice, witness what she not only brings to Louisville’s Harlem, but how the community works with her to share and impart their own wants for Russell."
 
Now in its fourth year, The Speed’s Community Connections program aims at giving a platform to marginalized voices through art-making. With innovative arts and cultural experiences, Community Connections brings contemporary art from diverse experiences into the Speed Art Museum through community collaborations.
 
Said Speed Director Stephen Reily, "Since the "new" Speed reopened five years ago we've been focused on activating and inviting people into our new building. With support from the NEA, we're now excited to take our work INTO the community, using art to serve--and learn from--our neighbors in Russell."
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About the Speed Art Museum
The Speed Art Museum is Kentucky’s largest art museum. Its mission is to “invite everyone to celebrate art forever.” It is an independent and encyclopedic museum located on the campus of the University of Louisville. In 1927, Louisville philanthropist Hattie Bishop Speed founded the Speed Art Museum, with a belief in the power of art to change people’s lives.
 
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