JOINING HANDS: Art and industry collaborate to commemorate a historic Black neighborhood and inspire community healing and progress toward racial equity

The series, titled Joining Hands, presents four colorful digital mosaic-style murals located on the walls of the I-244 Detroit Avenue underpass that project a future based on restorative justice. Part of the Pathway to Hope, a walking path that follows a historical route through the Greenwood neighborhood, the work tells the story of how the Greenwood community has rebuilt after physical violence and systemic racism that instigated the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre.

Commissioned by the Oklahoma Arts Council, RE:site worked closely with the Greenwood Cultural Center, the Greenwood Rising Museum and photographer and Tulsa native Stephanie Alecia Rose to source imagery used in the design of the murals.

Each mural is composed of historical photographs showing a thriving Greenwood both before the massacre and after the rebuilding, as well as contemporary citizens. Each of the fragments are joined together by an outline of gold, symbolizing the Japanese art of kintsugi. An ancient potter's technique, kintsugi joins broken pieces of pottery together, highlighting the repair with powdered gold as opposed to trying to conceal the damage. The idea is that a broken object that has been put back together has an authentic and valuable story that speaks to resilience.

Artist and RE:site co-founder Shane Allbritton has worked with Polyvision's printed CeramicSteel panels in several prior projects, and she commends its performance in a demanding environment: "Polyvision graphic panels are high-quality printed materials, and they were very straightforward to install in our minimal framing system despite very uneven underpass concrete walls." 

Viewed at a distance, each of the four murals feature a different composition of hands joined together showing solidarity between people of all races and backgrounds. Not only does the artwork title refer to the joining of hands, but also it evokes the mosaic metaphor of restoring or rejoining of the Greenwood community through many hands.

Through powerful visual and poetic expression, Joining Hands creates a sense of place, inviting inter-generational conversation about the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre and the ongoing struggle for civil rights. Color, imagery, and composition unite to evoke wholeness, joy, and prosperity, projecting a bright and hopeful future where racial inequities have been eradicated.

Custom Product Manager Kate Cathey says, "Polyvision is honored to be selected by RE:site Studio to provide the graphic platform to make the artist's vision a colorful and impactful reality in downtown Tulsa. This project is very special in that our materials are part of a positive social statement and are a source of local pride for the employees in our nearby manufacturing plant that produced the panels for the project."

ABOUT POLYVISION 

Polyvision Corporation is a global leader in the innovation and manufacture of CeramicSteel for a variety of industries. For over 70 years, we've helped make the world a better place by creating products that enhance visual experiences and connect people to their environments. Polyvision CeramicSteel is used around the world for traditional chalkboard and whiteboard surfaces, modern collaboration products for many of the world's most influential organizations and architectural walls and cladding for public spaces. Headquartered in Okmulgee, Oklahoma, with operations also in Genk, Belgium, Polyvision does business in over 65 countries. For more information about CeramicSteel and its uses, visit polyvision.com. 

SOURCE Polyvision Inc.