From News One.
Artist Charlotta Janssen’s “Freedom Riders†exhibit, which is currently on display at Philadelphia’s African-American Museum through Sept. 30, has been making waves in the art and political arenas. The collection includes oil canvas mugshots of those who participated in the 20th century Freedom Bus Rides to fight for integrated public transit.
“I was googling and I found mugshots. The first thing I found was a set of mugshots. ‘One Day In Montgomery’ in 1956 and ‘One Day’ in 1961. And it felt like a real study of a moment and not just a portrait of a person, but a portrait of a moment that I could make artwork around,” Janssen told News One.
She sought to pay tribute to their struggles and triumphs, creating a small set of paintings honoring the Montgomery Bus Boycotters of 1955-56 and the Freedom Riders of 1961 and placing them in her Brooklyn restaurant.