Join us in person for DOWN WITH THE WHITENESS, a two-day, student-organized event with live poetry, live painting and vendors selling art, jewelry, and clothing. We will be showcasing the work of current students and alumni, and highlighting the history of activism and art at San Francisco State University. This show is being organized by Jasmine Liang, Victor Saucedo, and Juliane Roberts-Hansen; three undergraduate art students of San Francisco State University.

Our goal is to highlight the writers and artists of San Francisco State University. We want to see our peers being recognized for their work outside of campus, because we see a lack of support for emerging artists and non-gallery-represented individuals.

We choose to propose our spoken word night at the ICA because of its connection to the greater Bay Area arts scene and promise to “prioritizes artists over art holdings, individuals over institutions, and equity and expansion of the canon.” San Francisco State University has been an integral part of the history of student art and activism in the Bay Area and United States.

By being current students, we want to highlight the work of our peers as well as the historical impact of the Third World Liberation Front (TWLF) in poetry and art. The TWLF, born out of our campus of SFSU in 1968, used art to create an international unification of peoples oppressed by racism, capitalism, and colonialism. Poetry and art have been ways for the TWLF to share culture and form solidarity, so we invite all to remember our political history as we celebrate the global impact of our students and their collective action through art and activism.