Due to the subject of this exhibition, I was very nervous and also intrigued about what I might see when viewing the artwork.

The exhibition comprised of a variety of different styles of artwork, from paintings to textiles. Included was a famous painting of Muhammad Ali by Andy Warhol. One piece that I found particularly moving was ‘Fred Hampton’s Door 2’ (1975) by Dana C Chandler – the bullet holes in the door were chilling, especially with recent events like Donald Trump being elected as president and with the volume of African American men being shot and killed for no reason. It is shocking that although this piece is from 1975 not much has really changed at all.

Another piece that I really enjoyed was ‘Revolutionary’ (1972) by Wadsworth Jarrell. The bright colours really capture the psychedelic movement of the time. Although the woman in the painting at first glance looks to be singing, with words such as ‘struggle’ and ‘I have given my life’ could mean that she is in fact screaming.

After leaving the exhibition I was incredibly emotional – although I have always been outraged at how the police have treated black people, actually seeing the artwork from the time really made the connection deeper. It was seeing all of the art from the time of these events that brought it to life.