HENRY BRANNAN

After years of watching their neighborhood be marred by gentrification and artwashing, seeing the activism of groups like Defend Boyle Heights, an inspired Brannan set out to create greater understanding within the artistic community about how art is used by cities and developers as a tool in furthering the white supremacist, capitalist endeavor of gentrification.

 

The course, taught in Black Mountain North Carolina at the School of the Alternative, was broken down into 3 distinct sections: 1. What gentrification and artwashing are and the history that has brought us to the present moment 2. Art and artists' role in gentrification. 3. How to fight back and extricate yourself from these processes and necessary changes in actions and ideologies. 

 

The course, which was attended by ~20 students of all ages, educational backgrounds, professions, etc, was carried out through a mix of lectures and discussion based off of the lectures, assigned readings, and various content we viewed in class like slam poetry and excerpts from speeches and movies. It also placed a heavy emphasis on students' own experiences.

 

The culmination of the course was a skype interview with a member of Defend Boyle Heights and Boyle Heights Alliance Against Artwashing and Displacement where the class learned about the activist's experiences on the front lines against artwashing and the groups' history and goals. Following the interview, we reflected on everything we had learned, what we were still shaky on, and how to integrate this knowledge into the everyday practice of ourselves and our communities.

 

Teaching this course was not only a tremendous honor but also one of the most rewarding experiences in my life.