A Juried Exhibition from Violence Transformed Celebrating Recent Ancestor Bernice Reagon Johnson of Sweet Honey in the Rock
February 15 - March 2, 2025
There’s a new day comin’, everything’s gon’ be turning over, Everything’s gon’ be turning over, where you gon’ be standing when it comes?”
-Bernice Johnson Reagon (October 4, 1942 – July 16, 2024)
Violence Transformed invites viewers to “New World Coming,” a juried multi-media arts exhibit uplifting the words, sounds and spirit of Bernice Johnson Reagon. The exhibit focuses on the art and activism of socially engaged artists in and beyond Boston. We are living in times where art allows us to heal but also enters into critical conversations that allows all facets of our community to be seen. Bernice Johnson Reagon led us with her voice for nearly half a century, speaking and singing out for freedom and justice. The words to her song, “New World Coming,” feel like a premonition for the moment we are in as a people.
Violence Transformed is an annual series of visual and performing arts events that celebrate the power of art, artists and art-making to confront, challenge and mediate violence. Violence Transformed events include visual arts exhibits and music, dance and theatrical performances hosted by multiple venues in Boston and beyond. Since 2015, Violence Transformed events have also included artist-led workshops for health care providers and provider-led, trauma-informed workshops for artists and activists working with individuals, families and communities impacted by violence and the risk of violence.
Based primarily in the central and surrounding neighborhoods of Greater Boston, and drawing upon the creative energies of artists throughout New England, Violence Transformed documents the ways in which our diverse communities harness art’s potential to effect social change and materially transform our environments. Violence Transformed represents a vibrant collaboration among artists, activists, museum professionals, academics, and community service providers from diverse segments of the greater Boston area. Our work is made possible by the tremendous volunteer energy and creative gifts of our participants, by grant-funding for many of our workshop initiatives and, primarily, by donations from those who support our mission.
