From Obama to Occupy: Works of Outrage from 2008 – 2012

From Obama to Occupy: Works of Outrage from 2008-2012 is a sequel to the 2009 hit show, Requiem for W, Overture for O: Works of Conscience from 2000-2008. Even before we knew the outcome of the 2012 election, there was a vital need to reflect on how artists had responded to Obama and the political events of the past four years. Obama’s election highlighted racial discourse in various ways: contentious debates about a “post-racial society”, racist attacks by the Right, conflicting and ambivalent responses from the Left, and the differing emotions, expectations, achievements, and disappointments that his term has had for white people and people of color. From Obama to Occupy: Works of Outrage from 2008-2012 generates a space for art to be a powerful platform to engage deeply with the contradictions and questions that Obama’s presidency has raised.