Interactive exhibit utilizes art to heal, spur unity among students

A thick olive-green banner wrapped around the ceiling of the Kerckhoff Art Gallery. Dozens of overlapping black-paint handprints covered the banner almost completely.

I wandered through the gallery “Hands in Solidarity in the Age of Trump” on its opening night Monday, and my eyes focused on the pieces of paper with hand-written messages stuck on the wall beneath the banner.

Some voiced support for Planned Parenthood, while others contained motivational messages like, “Tell your brother/sister that we got to RISE UP.” A zine with the the text, “Love Trumps Hate” written in cursive hung on one wall near a large anti-Trump poster that said “No! Stop Trump/Pence #NoFascistUSA” in English and Spanish.

“Hands in Solidarity in the Age of Trump” is a week-long interactive art gallery event running until Friday, with different events every night. Monday included a zine-making workshop, Tuesday offered meditation and healing sessions, Wednesday will hold an open mic event “The Word on Wednesday,” Thursday includes a dance party in Dickson Plaza and Friday will feature a potluck.

The Cultural Affairs Commission and the Queer Arts Collective collaborated to host the events, which are aimed at getting students to answer the question, “What does solidarity look like in the Trump presidency?” and providing a space for students to answer that question any way they want, said Matthew Shepard, a member of CAC for the past two years. Shepard did not plan the event, but he helped execute it, he said.

Shepard, a fourth-year business economics student, stood behind one of the two tables covered with sexual identity flags and colored construction papers. Zines – which are small handmade booklets filled with photography, poetry, stories or drawings – offer a way for students to create and express themselves, Shepard said.

The idea for the event came from CAC members Weiwen Balter and Timna Naim, Shepard said.

[Read more: Collecting Creatives: Timna Naim]

The exhibit is an act of government resistance by students and a call for solidarity among UCLA students in light of Donald Trump’s presidency and policies so far, Shepard said.

“(The event is) trying to bring together the UCLA community in solidarity saying we pledge to resist,” Shepard said.

The olive-green banner with the handprints serves as the centerpiece of the exhibit, and will be displayed all five days of the exhibit. The banner was created Nov. 10 when students were asked to print their hands on the banner on Bruin Walk, in order to show solidarity with other students, Shepard said.

Two students pasted glitters on paper and drew with colored markers at the table next to Shepard. Busy in the zine-making process was third-year Asian American studies student Justine B. Justine requested to be only referred to by her first name because her parents do not know of her sexuality.

“I thought it would be cool to let my creativity run wild and try my hand at making my own zine,” Justine said.

Justine’s handmade zine spread in front of her, with the title “Hi I’m Bi” written across the front page. The zine was filled with colorful writings about her personal experience with how the straight community can perceive bisexual people, said Justine.

She said she felt many groups have been affected by Trump’s presidency so far, including those in the Muslim, female-identifying and LGBTQ communities.

The zine, which was made from blue construction paper with a white paper in the middle, included examples of messages she received on Tinder for being bisexual, such as “Bi girls are so much hotter,” Justine said.

She flipped to a section that was more personal. On these pages, she had written messages to her younger sister about her sexuality and coming out.

“It’s about … how eventually I am going to tell my parents (about my sexuality) and know that if I don’t come home, know that I’m happy and I’m safe and I’m with somebody that I love,” Justine said.

While Justine worked on her zine, others talked and hugged as they finished up their own creations.

I stopped by the gallery Tuesday for the meditation session. First-year linguistics and computer science student Spun Jakka was drawn to the event because of the collaboration with the Queer Arts Collective, they said.

“It’s good to have a community and a space for queer people, especially in this political climate,” Jakka said.

The “Hands in Solidarity in the Age of Trump” event demonstrates a way to use art for healing, especially when some members in the UCLA community are feeling scared and uncertain about how some of Trump’s policies may affect them, Justine said.

“It’s really good to explore different ways to take care of yourself, to cope with difficult situations,” Justine said.