Dr. Aaron McKain, M.S.L.
Art Exhibitions & Civic Forums
Strategic Arts Advocacy on Technology Ethics, Free Speech, & Public Health
Because Art is the Answer When Nothing Else Works.
Catalyzes civic engagement and curate under-served community voices by translating complex issues into easy-to-understand:
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Local, national, and international art exhibitions and installations;
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Academic research and publications;
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Educational materials for attorneys, teachers; citizens, and advocates.
Our own body of work is motivated by the same goals that guide our exhibitions of other artists' work. We want to use aesthetic experiences as a means of engaging the general public with digital and biomedical harms that would otherwise be invisible to the naked eye or too bogged down in esoteric jargon.
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Strategic Arts Advocacy on Technology Ethics, Free Speech, & Public Health
Because Art is the Answer When Nothing Else Works.
THANK YOU TO MY PARTNERS
AND THE HUNDREDS OF ARTISTS FROM AROUND
THE WORLD WHO SUPPORTED THESE PROJECTS
ACLU MINNESOTA
SAFETY NOT SURVEILLANCE COALITION
RECLAIM THE BLOCK
GUNS DOWN, LOVE UP
LITTLE EARTH NATIVE HUD COMMUNITY
LITTLE EARTH NATIVE YOUTH ARTS CENTER
PROTECT MINNESOTA
SECOND CHANCE COALITION
NORTH SUBURBAN CENTER FOR THE ARTS
URBAN EDUCATORS
NORTHEAST SCULPTURE FACTORY
DIGITAL ARCHIVE OF LITERACY NARRATIVES
NORTH CENTRAL UNIVERSITY
HAMLINE UNIVERSITY
Strategic Arts Advocacy on Technology Ethics, Free Speech, & Public Health
Because Art is the Answer When Nothing Else Works.
THANK YOU TO MY PARTNERS
AND THE HUNDREDS OF ARTISTS FROM AROUND
THE WORLD WHO SUPPORTED THESE PROJECTS
ACLU MINNESOTA SAFETY NOT SURVEILLANCE COALITION
RECLAIM THE BLOCK
GUNS DOWN, LOVE UP
LITTLE EARTH NATIVE HUD COMMUNITY
LITTLE EARTH NATIVE YOUTH ARTS CENTER
PROTECT MINNESOTA
SECOND CHANCE COALITION
NORTH SUBURBAN CENTER FOR THE ARTS
URBAN EDUCATORS
NORTHEAST SCULPTURE FACTORY
DIGITAL ARCHIVE OF LITERACY NARRATIVES
NORTH CENTRAL UNIVERSITY
HAMLINE UNIVERSITY
ART EXHIBITION HIGHLIGHTS
Local, national, & international.
Juried and/or grant funded.
Curated, designed, and hosted
by Dr. McKain.
Digital Rights are Civil Rights: Race and Tech
International juried art exhibition and civic forum.
Minneapolis, MN and online. February 2021.
The murder of George Floyd made it clear to the world that systemic racism is a life or death issue for people of color in our country. This issue has only become more pressing in light of recent technological developments: racist facial recognition software; predictive policing programs that target minorities; and discriminatory algorithms (in employment, healthcare, education, and criminal justice) that violate our privacy, threaten free speech, and replace human judgment with encoded systemic inequity.
Thank you to our partners;
ACLU MN; Native Youth Arts Collective; North Central University; the Institute for Digital Humanity; the POSTME Coalition; and City Councilman Steve Fletcher.
Local, national, & international. Juried and/or grant funded.
Designed to catalyze and curate allegedly impossible conversations.
Curated, designed, and hosted by Dr. McKain
Local, national, & international.
Juried and/or grant funded.
Curated, designed, and hosted
by Dr. McKain.
Digital Rights Are Civil Rights: Race and Tech
International juried art exhibition and civic forum.
Minneapolis, MN and online. February 2021.
In partnership with:
The Institute for Digital Humanity
The Institute for Aesthetic Advocacy
ACLU Minnesota
Native Youth Arts Collective;
North Central University
Post ME Coalition
Councilman Steve Fletcher (Minneapolis, MN)
Contaminated:
Mental Illness & COVID
International juried exhibition & civic forum
Online and in Minneapolis
(At the height of the pandemic.)
May 2020
In partnership with:
The Institute for Digital Humanity
The Institute for Aesthetic Advocacy
North Central University
Hamline University
All Bullets Shatter:
Crime and Trauma
Living Art Exhibition and Public Forum
Minneapolis, MN and Online. May 2022.
In partnership with:
Guns Down, Love Up I Protect MN
Digital Archive of Literacy Narratives
Urban Educators I North Suburban Center for the Arts I MN Second Change Coalition
and Faculty from Ohio State, Georgia State, Portland State, and Pittsburg Univ.
Plugging In:
Tech & Surveillance
Art and Community Education Event
Minneapolis, MN and Online. October 2021.
In partnership with:
ACLU Minnesota I Reclaim the Block
The Institute for Digital Humanity
Safety Not Surveillance I Post ME
Tulane Valley Creates (Portland, OR)
Councilman Simon Troutman (Richfield, MN)
Councilman Steve Fletcher (Minneapolis, MN)
Digital Rights are Civil Rights: Race and Technology
INTERNATIONAL JURIED ART EXHIBITION & CIVIC FORUM
Minneapolis, MN and online. February 2021
In partnership with:
The Institute for Digital Humanity
The Institute for Aesthetic Advocacy
ACLU Minnesota
Native Youth Arts Collective;
North Central University
Post ME Coalition
Councilman Steve Fletcher (Minneapolis, MN)
Contaminated:
Mental Illness & COVID
INTERNATIONAL JURIED ART
EXHIBITION & CIVIC FORUM
Minneapolis, MN and online. February 2021
(At the height of the pandemic.)
Curated to catalyze cross-cultural conversations on our post-COVID-19 existence and start to rebuild our common humanity and reality.
In partnership with:
The Institute for Digital Humanity
The Institute for Aesthetic Advocacy
North Central University
Hamline University
All Bullets Shatter:
Crime and Trauma
LIVING ART EXHIBITION & PUBLIC FORUM
Minneapolis, MN and Online.
May 2022
In partnership with:
Guns Down, Love Up I Protect Minnesota
Digital Archive of Literacy Narratives
Urban Educators I North Suburban Center for the Arts
Minnesota Second Change Coalition
and Faculty from Ohio State, Georgia State, Portland State,
and Pittsburg Univ. Prison Writing Project
DRONESTRUCK
GROUP EXHIBITION
Hamline Midway Arts Festival
Grant Funded
Saint Paul, MN. December 2015
INTERNATIONAL CURATED EXHIBITION
Como Park
Saint Paul, MN. April 2016
Featuring sound artists from thirteen countries, demonstrating the growing international recognition of sound as a vibrant artistic medium and valuable tool of environmental inquiry and advocacy."
CIVIC FORUMS: HIGHLIGHTS
Created and directed by Dr. McKain to catalyze essential cross-cultural coalitions and conversations during this time
of unprecedented division.
Plugging In:
Tech & Surveillance
COMMUNITY EDUCATION &
EMPOWERMENT EVENT
Minneapolis, MN and Online.
October 2021
The need to ensure basic principles of human and civil rights in the mechanisms of digital public safety has never been more pressing. The IAA and its partners hosted a public discussion and technology workshop focused on surveillance, privacy rights, racial justice, and digital ethics.
In partnership with: ACLU Minnesota I Reclaim the Block I The Institute for Digital Humanity I North Central Univ. I Safety Not Surveillance I Post ME I Tulane Valley Creates I Councilman Simon Troutman (Richfield, Minnesota) I Councilman Steve Fletcher (Minneapolis)
IAA Zine Exchanges
The IAA has often used zine-making events and zine exchanges as opportunities to facilitate dialogue around issues related to public health, mental health, and cultural politics. Zine events are a straightforward means for students and communities to playfully offer their own perspectives on issues they normally might not talk about with people they might not normally talk to.
Thank you to our partners; Hamline University; North Central University; the Institute for Digital Humanity
