Students in Art & Design Professor Lenore Metrick-Chen’s class Curating Race, Fall 2020, studied issues of race and visual culture. Their starting point centered on how race is created by society and power systems: it is not a biological or genetic reality, but a social reality. Focusing on Iowan history, and contextualizing this study with national history, they examined how imagery has been crucial in promoting and in challenging ideas of race.

The culmination of the course is their virtual exhibition, Race and Visibility: An Online Exhibition. Each student created a room in the exhibition that stands on its own, and collectively they offer a probing and visually engaging exploration of the representation of race and its consequences. This exhibition will be available online through January 31, 2021.

Race and Visibility is curated by Professor Lenore Metrick-Chen’s class “Curating Race” in Fall 2020. Please click here to see the students' exhibitions. Click on the provided links to start a Guided Tour of each virtual exhibition. Or if you opt for "Enter Exhibition" instead, you will be able to click on individual art and objects to get more information and, sometimes, music, videos, and sound.