MAKE AMERICA #OKFORU AGAIN

Make America #OKFORU Again encourages protest of current injustices. Highlights of the exhibition include the OKFORU zine by Julia Morrison, works by five visual artists from NY and DC, poetry, and live postcard-making.

OKFORU is a pro-democracy, anti-exploitation zine and street art project that asks: What is and is not OK for you?

OKFORU asserts that there is nothing to fear but complacency. Julia believes that the first step to meaningful change is an open dialogue without fear, shame, or retribution. When asked about what inspired her to create OKFORU, Julia says, “I grew up 'in the system,' not like Rage Against the Machine style (which I most certainly am), but like foster care and a variety of other difficult housing situations...I have sought avenues my entire life to empower myself. Today I wish to help others find their voice.”

OKFORU brings people together to write and decorate pre-stamped postcards to government officials, intellectuals, business owners, the media, or anyone else with power in a situation that could be improved or reimagined. Julia says, “Why free? Because there is too much money in politics and people shouldn’t have to pay in order to be heard.”

Following its New York debut at Chinatown Soup, Make America #OKFORU Again will travel to the Union Arts warehouse, the last collective artist space of its kind in Washington, D.C. Here, the exhibit will call attention to the protests of artists, residents, and patrons in opposition to the development of a boutique hotel conversion, which would decrease artist workspaces from 40 studios to eight. Union Arts has been home to 100 artists for over a decade, serving as both a haven and a stimulus for creativity.

About the creator Julia Morrison is an artist, actress, and activist based in Brooklyn, NY. Her works include poetry, collage, painting, photography, video, and film. Julia’s other works fall under the pseudonym “Jelly,” which is slang for female anatomy. Julia uses her Jelly persona to celebrate the female form. The Jelly project aims to illuminate the dissonance between power and technology in relation to sex and gender in the modern world.