Art is political — some explicitly so, others implicitly, whether directly critiquing power structures or representing disenfranchised identities.
Both forms of art are needed now, more than ever.
Shortly after Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th president of the United States on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the new administration moved quickly to roll back federal initiatives aimed at diversity, equity and inclusion. Art is being directly affected.
Both the National Gallery of Art and the Smithsonian Institution have shuttered their DEI offices in compliance with an executive order. Trump’s administration has also disbanded the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities and issued new guidelines for National Endowment for the Arts grants impacting funding for underserved communities..
“We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope,” King once said.
The photography exhibition “Infinite Hope,” presented by Jenkins Johnson Gallery at Minnesota Street Project in San Francisco’s Dogpatch through March 1, is a shining example of how art can take a radical stand against such disappointments.
