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Date: 6/21/2021
WESTERN MASS. – A multi-site art exhibition for gun violence awareness month will continue to be showcased for the public through the end of June.
Titled “[de]Range,” the exhibition was created by Attack Bear Press Black, Indigenous and Other People of Color (BIPOC) artist Jason Montgomery to engage and highlight the facts and potential solutions to the gun violence epidemic within our country.
According to Montgomery, Attack Bear Press is an Easthampton-based organization that was founded in 2016 by poet Alexandra Woolner and Montgomery to promote work involving community arts and engagement and arts activism.
“This year, we were particularly interested in doing something for gun violence awareness month, particularly because of the lull of mass shootings during the pandemic, and then the explosion of them that has happened since the reopening started,” said Montgomery.
Additionally, Montgomery, who is a Chicano artist, said that gun violence awareness in the past has been addressed as purely a problem within BIPOC communities. “There was a lot of BIPOC sorrow on display when people started discussing gun violence,” said Montgomery.
Because of this, the Attack Bear Press organization found it particularly important to address the underlying issues and systemic issues of gun violence through Montgomery’s art exhibition in a way that did not victimize or tokenize Black and Brown people.
Montgomery’s exhibition spans three different locations for the public to see. The first location is at the Baustein Building at 532 Main St. in Holyoke. The second location is Eastworks, Suite 160, 116 Pleasant St. in Easthampton. The third location is 33 Hawley St. in Northampton.
The Eastworks part of the exhibit is the largest in footprint and considered the central hub, according to Montgomery. Despite this, the artist said that each location is meant to be read differently to convey different aspects of the gun violence conversation.
Attack Bear Press has working relationships with all three cities. Montgomery said that the owners at the Baustein Building have been very supportive of their studio, which is in the building. The owners also donate space every year for the Holyoke Community Ofrenda for El Dia de los Muertos. “That was a natural place to do one of these,” said Montgomery.
Easthampton, meanwhile, allowed Montgomery to do whatever he wanted in the studio at Eastworks. He and Woolner are the poets laureate for Easthampton from 2021 to 2023, as well. “Working in Easthampton, where we already have this great working relationship with the community, has been great,” said Montgomery.
The exhibition was partially funded with a grant from the Northampton Cultural Council through the Massachusetts Cultural Council. According to Montgomery, the Northampton Arts Trust building wants to have more artists coming in to utilize the space, so the collaboration was able to work out.
Attack Bear Press is informed by the American Public Health Association (APHA), an organization that pushes an initiative declaring gun violence a public health issue. After the exhibition ends on June 30, the featured art will be up for sale, and 50 percent of those sales will go toward the APHA initiative.
The APHA plans on using donated money to further research the gun violence epidemic. According to Montgomery, there are several federal laws that do not allow for the funding of gun violence research by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“We personally believe in common sense gun policies and extreme risk protection orders,” said Montgomery, who added that gun violence research has been nonexistent for 25 years because of blocks at the federal level. “As a BIPOC artist and gun owner myself, I fundamentally believe in Black and Brown people’s constitutional right to bear arms,” said Montgomery. “The idea that BIPOC people may feel safer being armed is something we completely support.”
The Holyoke exhibit is open to the public Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The Eastworks location is open every day from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. The Northampton location is open Monday through Friday from 1 to 4 p.m.