Black Lives Matter mural

These 18 canvases re-create a street mural painted on Indiana Avenue in downtown Indianapolis by 18 local Black artists, known as the Eighteen Collective, when the Black Lives Matter movement erupted nationally during the summer of 2020 after the killing of George Floyd. Each letter in this piece of public art was painted by a different artist, and the canvases are reproductions of their work in miniature, commissioned by The Children’s Museum in 2021.

 

Since the mural was defaced by vandals within the first week it was created and disappeared during repaving in 2021, these canvases preserve this important piece of protest art in the brushstrokes of the original artists. For this effort, the museum won an award of excellence for Leadership in History from the American Association for State and Local History.

 

In an interview conducted by the museum, artist Israel Solomon said, “It was an amazing experience for me to collaborate with other Black artists on this mural. One of the great things about the collaborative effort is that many of these artists, most of these artists, I didn’t know of prior to this mural occurring. And I think that it’s been a blessing just to meet all of these talented individuals and see, you know, what they have to offer the world. And I want us to continue moving forward in our creative spaces. And I want to see all of us blossom and develop as artists.”