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Get an original artwork by donating to a social justice cause

Artist Paul Mpagi Sepuya will match your gift to National Bail Out and other organizations with a "Solidarity Print."

Written by
Howard Halle
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One of the stars of the 2019 Whitney Biennial, Los Angeles artist Paul Mpagi Sepuya has spent the past decade dealing with the intersectionality of queer aesthetics and race. He's become known for what you might call performative photographs shot in his studio, in which nude male models, including himself, pose and interact with the camera in a manner that deconstructs the artifice of the photographic set while subverting the ways in which the medium commodifies bodies of color. Mirrors, photographic equipment (tripods, backdrops) and even other photographs are used to create compositions in which the figure is concealed, revealed and fragmented all at once.

Paul Mpagi Sepuya, Whitney Biennial, Los Angeles, George Floyd, Chicago
Photograph: Courtesy the artist and DOCUMENT

Now, in the midst of the nationwide turmoil over the death of George Floyd, Sepuya is lending a hand in the fight for social justice. If you make a donation of $250 or more to one of a list of organizations, he will send you his piece, Studio (0X5A4983).

It works like this: Once you make your donation ($250, $500 and $1,000 are suggested amounts, though you can give more, of course), you email your receipt to solidarity@paulsepuya.com with your full name and mailing address. The photo will be sent to you unframed and unmounted directly from the printer. Sepuya's Chicago gallery, DOCUMENT, is paying for the costs, including free shipping via the USPS. Purchasers from outside the United States, however, will have to pay for international shipping which will be arranged by the gallery. There's a limit of one print per person, and you can expect a wait of 30 days before receiving it.

Launched on June 2, the project has already raised $100,000. If you can spare the money, consider donating to one of the causes below:

Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment

Black Lives Matter Los Angeles

CURB

Fair Fight

LGBTQFUND.ORG

National Bail Out

Black Trans Advocacy Coalition

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