Mutual Aid is Life

Artist Statement

Mutual Aid is the practice of human beings and other species to cooperatively help each other and assure progress from systems that oppose them. It is a collective action to reshape and organize with purpose, creating innovation and new ways of existence. On July 19, 2020 Black Lives Matter Toronto (BLM-TO) held a press conference following the arrest and detention of several protestors for pouring pink paint on the monuments of three men responsible for violence and oppression against Indigenous and Black people. Ravyn Wngz, a core member of  Black Lives Matter Toronto (BLM-TO) gave a powerful speech in response to the press. “Mutual Aid is Life” shares Ravyn Wngz’s speech, including credits to these other activists, artists and writers; Angela Rye, Sonya Renee Taylor, Kimberly Jones, Syrus Marcus Ware, and Sandy Hudson.

Also included in “Mutual Aid is Life” are the demands to create change for those impacted by homelessness and those in need of safe affordable housing in Maine. The protest and Encampment at Portland City Hall which began on July 22, 2020 and lasted for over two weeks, was in response to the City of Portland’s negligent treatment of the housing crisis. The demands were created collectively by those directly impacted and unhoused. The image of the demands was designed by Printers Without Margins.

Artist Bios
Greta Bank and Scott Peterman live together in Hollis, Maine with their two daughters. They have collaborated on SPACE projects in the past including 2011’s Godzilla Attacks and 2019’s We Survive in a Capitalist Ecology.

This work represents the artists’ perspectives and the political engagement they choose to amplify through their platform. SPACE supports artists in expressing their political and social justice imperatives through their work.

Image credits: Scott Peterman