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The Gordon Parks Gallery presents:

BANNED opening reception

A series of leather bound books with clasped locks dangling from chains: The Talmud, The Quran, and The Book of Common Prayer

Karen Wirth, Chained Library, mixed media.

Join the Gordon Parks Gallery for the opening reception for BANNED, a multi-disiplinary exhibit of works responding to the banning of books curated by Mineapolis-based artists Harriet Bart and Jon Neuse. Inspired by the unprecedented quantity of books being removed or restricted from libraries, schools and bookstores across the world they’ve organized a group of multi-disciplinary artists to address the subject. An original BANNED exhibition was shown in 2023 at Traffic Zone Center for visual Art in Minneapolis. This Metro State exhibition, also titled BANNED, will coincide with Banned Book Week (September 22 – 28 to again explore current and historical attempts to censor reading material and the voices that they contain.

Exhibiting artists include: Harriet Bart, Minneapolis; Doug Beube, Brooklyn, NY; Vesna Kittelson, Minneapolis; Joyce Lyon, Saint Paul; Steven McCarthy, Falcon Heights; Laura Migliorino, Minneapolis; Jon Neuse, Minneapolis; Cathy Ryan, Minneapolis; CB Sherlock, Minneapolis; Richard Stephens, St. Louis Park; Mickey Smith, Auckland, New Zealand, Elysa Voshell, Minneapolis; and Karen Wirth, Minneapolis.

The opening reception takes place 5–7:30 p.m., Thursday, September 12, with curatorial remarks at 7. The gallery is located at the university’s Saint Paul Campus on the first floor of the Library and Learning Center, 645 East Seventh Street.