Shaun Leonardo: The Breath of Empty Space presents drawings by the Brooklyn-based artist that critique how mediated images of systemic violence against Black and Brown young men in contemporary American history have shaped our fear, empathy, and perception. Created between 2014 and 2019, the works trace high profile stories of lives ended or forever altered by systems of law enforcement from the 1970s to today. 

Shaun Leonardo: The Breath of Empty Space, El aliento del espacio vacío, presenta dibujos, del artista basado en Brooklyn, que critica cómo las imágenes mediatizadas de la violencia sistémica en contra de jóvenes negros y otras personas de color  en la historia contemporánea de los Estados Unidos han moldeado nuestro miedo, empatía y percepción. Creadas entre el año 2014 y 2019, las obras trazan las historias de alto perfil de las vidas perdidas o alteradas para siempre por los sistemas policíacos desde la década de 1970 hasta hoy en día.

The Bronx Museum of the Arts is expanding outside with #SeeMeBronx, an interactive project about visibility, intersectionality, and identity. The project kicks off the Museum's 50th anniversary, which is focused on visibility as a tenet of social justice. As we take off into our next fifty years, we hope to reaffirm our mission as an admission-free, liberated space for communities to come to enjoy art and have important conversations. #SeeMeBronx was created as a way to spark conversations within our many intersecting communities about identity, equity, and inclusion. Sometimes the best way to dive into dialogue is by asking tough but important questions. We hope you will join us in shaping the conversation with your queries. 

For over two decades, Biggers has been developing a singular body of work that is deeply informed by African American history and traditions, and sustains a rich dialog with contemporary art on a national and international level, referencing urban culture, the body, sacred geometry, and American symbolism. The title of the Bronx Museum exhibition, Codeswitch, refers to both the artists’ quilt series known as the Codex series and to the idea of code-switching itself, or shifting from one linguistic code to another depending on the social context. The Codex series includes mixed media paintings and sculptures done directly on or made from pre-1900 antique quilts.