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Activist Print

Activist Print is a collaboration between The Warhol, BOOM Concepts (a creative hub for artists to incubate ideas), and the North Side printmaking studio Artists Image Resource (AIR). Activist Print is inspired by the history of artists using silkscreen and print-based media to raise awareness of contemporary issues and inspire change.

The series started in 2016 with three Pittsburgh artists, Bekezela Mguni, Paradise Gray, and Alisha B. Wormsley, invited to create socially and politically inspired print work to be exhibited on the windows of the Rosa Villa, a building across the street from The Warhol. The museum was given the Rosa Villa property and has used the facade of the building for public artworks while working on a plan to rehabilitate the site. Project leader and artist D.S. Kinsel launched the project with the installation What They Say, What They Said on the Rosa Villa facade.

This project follows a history of exhibitions at the museum, which fostered dialogue around challenging issues: Without Sanctuary, Inconvenient Evidence, and Deadly Medicine. In December 2015, 201 people pledged $20,257 to the Activist Print campaign on the crowdfunding website Kickstarter in order to successfully fund and bring this project to life. We extend our sincerest gratitude and thanks to all of the Activist Print Kickstarter backers who made this project possible.

Activist Print: Bekezela Mguni: Ancestral Lines and Pittsburgh Loves Dogs

Ancestral Lines explores and honors the experiences of women of African descent with an array of vibrant text and images spanning the last century and Pittsburgh Loves Dogs highlights the use of dogs in centuries of violent oppression of Black people in the United States.

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Activist artist Bekezela Mguni in front of her installation Ancestral Lines at The Andy Warhol Museum. Photo by Emmai Alaquiva.

Activist Print: Alisha B. Wormsley: We Live

Alisha B. Wormsley’s four-part panel for Activist Print is inspired by John Carpenter’s 1988 science fiction film They Live.

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This is a black and white silkscreen print by artist Alisha Wormsley of an audience wearing 3D glasses.

Activist Print: Paradise Gray: The Disappearing Black Culture in Pittsburgh Series

In this photographic series, Paradise Gray observes the erasure of visible black culture and history in shared public spaces throughout Pittsburgh.

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An urban scene is painted on the wall of a building.

Activist Print: D.S. Kinsel: What They Say, What They Said

What They Say, What They Said is an introductory iteration of prints created by one of the Activist Print partners and project leaders D.S. Kinsel.

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Two artists work on a large installation piece featuring overlapping colorful words and a faceless, black and white image of a police officer.

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