New artwork unveiled in Mitchell Hall

Update | Tuesday, April 26, 2022

Pictured above, Columbus State student Le'Ken Stokes, president of Columbus States Black Student Union, on the left, just after she helped local artist Simone Robinson unveil her new artwork in the lobby of Mitchell Hall on April 12.

Local artist Simone Robinson unveiled her completed artwork project this month in Mitchell Hall. The painting combines images of Columbus-area Black residents killed by police shootings and their survivors and advocates, and reads, “You are deserving of every space you are in.” The project is the first in an annual event for artwork collaboration in the building. Robinson is currently a student at both Columbus State and The Ohio State University, where she is working on a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.

“This piece is a mixed media collage inspired by the artist Pinklomein, whose work has an emphasis on uplifting women,” said Robinson. “I chose to focus my attention on this artist because her work reminds me of the women in my life who inspire me.” The faces in the painting, as described by Robinson, are people she sees in the news and who represent those in the local racial justice movement who have been denied access to the space they deserve or are fighting to reclaim it. They include – in the lower center – Tamala Payne, the mother of Casey Goodson Jr., a Black man killed by a Franklin County Deputy, and local civil rights attorney Sean Walton. Robinson said, “I am hoping this piece brings peace and curiosity to anyone who views it, and ‘You are deserving of every space you are in.’” 

 

 

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