The Institute for Aesthetic Advocacy’s Curated Exhibitions

The Institute for Aesthetic Advocacy (IAA) is a non-profit organization that uses innovative curatorial practices and gallery spaces to break down the digital divides that have made it harder for everyone to decide what is true and who can be trusted. The IAA prides itself on producing and promoting academically peer-reviewed “aesthetic education” exhibits that can also be curated to provide supplemental materials for social activism or legal action.

Curated Exhibitions: Local, National, and International

The IAA’s curated exhibitions are a unique blend of art, education, and activism. They are designed to spark conversations and raise awareness about important social issues. The IAA’s curated exhibitions are held locally, nationally, and internationally. The organization partners with other non-profit organizations, universities, and community groups to bring these exhibitions to a wide audience.

Master List of IAA Curated Exhibitions

The IAA has curated several exhibitions over the years. Here is a master list of the curated exhibitions:

“All Bullets Shatter: Crime and Trauma”

May 2022

Over 20,000 bullets were fired in Minneapolis in 2021. These stories of gun violence are always “counted” in fatalities and injuries. But behind the numbers, there is always an “uncounted” human story of trauma for victims and their families that can’t be qualified. As a small step towards correcting this injustice, and to amplify the stories and voices of these unheard victims, the Institute for Aesthetic Advocacy and its partners invited submissions to our art exhibition and online storytelling archive: “All Bullets Shatter: Uncounted Stories of Gun Violence and Trauma.” The original exhibition took place on May 5, 2022, with more installations coming in 2023.

“Plugging In: Privacy and Surveillance”

Fall 2021

As with every other part of society, technology is changing public safety forever. The need to ensure basic principles of human and civil rights in the mechanisms of digital public safety has never been more pressing. The IAA and its partners participated in a public discussion and technology workshop focused on surveillance, privacy rights, racial justice, and digital ethics. The event was hosted on October 20, 2021.

“Digital Rights are Civil Rights: Race and Tech”

Spring 2021

The murder of George Floyd made it clear to the world that systemic racism is a life or death issue for people of color in our country. This issue has only become more pressing in light of recent technological developments: racist facial recognition software; predictive policing programs that target minorities; and discriminatory algorithms (in employment, healthcare, education, and criminal justice) that violate our privacy, threaten free speech, and replace human judgment with encoded systemic inequity. The Institute for Aesthetic Advocacy and its partners facilitated a juried art exhibition and community conversation — “Digital Rights are Civil Rights” — that focused on the intersection of race and technology, and was curated to catalyze local and national community conversations on digital ethics. It took place virtually and physically on February 19th, 2021.

“Contaminated: Mental Illness and COVID”

Spring 2020

In this time of uncertainty, COVID-19 — both at its height and in its aftermath — has contaminated everything: our homes, our lives, our communication, and even our shared reality. But how can we use art to cleanse and decontaminate our world of the “political plagues” — cultural divisions, medical inequities, and digital pollution — that COVID has called greater attention to? In order to start disinfecting ourselves — and re-constructing our shared humanity (and reality) — the Institute for Aesthetic Advocacy and the Institute for Digital Humanity solicited submissions to our juried show “Contaminated.” Focusing on how COVID-19 has invaded every aspect of our lives — but curated to catalyze cross-cultural conversations on our post-COVID-19 existence — “Contaminated” was hosted (virtually and physically) on May 7th, 2020.

IAA Zines

Given the cheap material and simple production process, zine publication naturally lends itself to collaborative and creative expression. The IAA has often used zine-making events and zine exchanges as opportunities to facilitate dialogue around issues related to public health, mental health, and cultural politics. Zine events are a straightforward means for students and communities to playfully offer their own perspectives on issues they normally might not talk about with people they might not normally talk to.

IAA Curation Hot Goss: 2023 Exhibitions

In 2023, the IAA has a lot of exciting exhibitions, installations, campaigns, and more coming up (for one, the next installment of our All Bullets Shatter exhibition is set for 2023!) Keep in touch to stay updated on what we’re planning.

Learn more about the IAA’s unique curatorial strategies and innovations

The IAA’s “meta” curatorial strategy (particularly post-COVID) is to catalyze cross-cultural community engagement via exhibit interactivity and placement. In addition to our coalition of sculptors and rhetoricians, the IAA strategically designs and curates its participation to “aesthetically enact” a particular bio-medical or ethical experience (these are then curated for public consumption by gallery patrons, educators, lawmakers, advocates, and citizens).

Partner With Us

The IAA is always looking for partners to help us create meaningful change through science, research, public awareness, and art. If you are interested in partnering with us, please contact us.