A year and a half after the police killing of Breonna Taylor during a raid of her home, no one has been charged in her death. Now her life, death, and the larger questions they raise about policing, and the value of Black lives in America, are being explored in a new exhibition in her hometown. Jeffrey Brown has the story for our ongoing arts and culture series, CANVAS.
Louisville Celebrates The Life of Breonna Taylor With New Museum Exhibit
Breonna Taylor (Image: Instagram/@keyanna.guifarro)
A new exhibit at Louisville’s Speed Art Museum aims to memorialize the late Breonna Taylor while also celebrating her life through the eyes of the people who knew her best.
Guest curator Allison Glenn had conversations with Taylor’s mother, Tamika Palmer, ahead of putting together the temporary installation, BET reports. Through a team effort that included Taylor’s family members, local activists, artists, and more, Glenn developed the exhibit to commemorate Taylor’s memory and the city she came from.
“First, I spoke with Breonna’s mother, and asked how we might think of her daughter’s legacy, and translated that into the three ideas: promise, witness, remembrance. Then I convened a national panel,” Glenn told the
Filled With Her Spirit, A Louisville Art Exhibition Honors Breonna Taylor wbur.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from wbur.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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Tamika Palmer says the art exhibition dedicated to her daughter, Breonna Taylor, is everything she hoped it would be; it s peaceful, she says, to be able to come to this place and just be filled with her spirit.
It s been nearly 13 months since Louisville Metro Police officers shot and killed Taylor in her home. Now a show in her honor is on view at Louisville s Speed Art Museum. It s called Promise, Witness, Remembrance. Palmer never imagined her daughter would be memorialized this way. I was in awe just at the thought that people who don t even know her take time out of their day to draw something of her . even just as simple as her name, Palmer says. And to see it all come together is just a blessing.
Palmer along with Taylor s sister, Ju Niyah Palmer, and aunt, Bianca Austin had a hand in developing this show. We ve never done anything like this, Tamika Palmer says. So it was a learning process. But it was a nice space to be in.
The family worked alongside a number of other community members, local artists and mental health professionals. Toya Northington, Community Engagement Strategist at the Speed Art Museum, wanted people who are close to the issues of police brutality and racism to have a voice in the show but that wasn t a simple ask. When I ask people to come to the table in a time where we are greatly divided as a community, I m asking them to come on board and to support this institution that has not been known for their support for the Black community and marginalized communities, Northington explains.