JENNY E. BALISLE’S “FREEDOM”

Jenny E. Balisle’s “FREEDOM” is currently on display at the 2019 North Dakota Human Rights Arts Festival.

The 6×6 three-dimensional peice is clear braille on polymer. 

“Lady Justice is a symbol of impartiality in our judicial system,” Balisle said of the work. “Standing stoically with a scale in one hand and a sword in the other, she is blindfolded representing that power, status, or money has no influence. A standard braille sign becomes repurposed by altering its function. “FREEDOM” serves as a marker questioning how special interests have weakened the fundamental principles of democracy. Citizens must not blindly follow but question, organize, and demand the highest standards preserving truth and justice.”

Visit the festival at one of its three stops in North Dakota to experience Balisle’s “FREEDOM”.

Balisle earned a B.A. in Art and Communication from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and a M.F.A. from the Academy of Art College in San Francisco. Exhibits include the de Young Museum Artist-in-Residence, Orange County Center for Contemporary Art, Chicago Cultural Center, Korean Cultural Center, Harvard University, Farmington Museum, Museu Brasileiro Sao Paulo, and Shanghai Oil Painting & Sculpture Institute Art Museum.

Her work has been featured in such publications as The Huffington Post, WOMENCINEMAKERS, A5 Magazine, ZYZZYVA, The Drum Literary Magazine, and Sculptural Pursuits Magazine. Public art includes The Cube Art Project, Hearts in San Francisco, and South San Francisco Utility Box Mural Project.

Balisle currently works as an artist, curator, advocate, writer, lecturer, and instructor at the Academy of Art University and UC Berkeley Extension. Locally, she serves as a Richmond Arts & Culture Commissioner and Public Art Advisory Committee member.

Learn more about Balisle’s work at her website www.jennyebalisle.com or on FaceBook or Instagram. 

The Second Annual North Dakota Human Rights Arts Festival opens Tuesday, January 8 at the Plains Art Museum in Fargo, North Dakota. The festival includes the work of thirty-five 2D, 3D, filmmakers and live performance artists from around the world.

Each artist explores human rights, civil rights or social justice issues through their respective mediums. In addition to paintings, mixed media works and photographs, a series of experimental videos will also be a part of the festival. Live performance works will take place during an artist reception scheduled throughout the festival.

For the first time, the festival will travel throughout North Dakota. The exhibition opens on January 8, 2019, at Plains Art Museum in Fargo. On February 1, the exhibition will open in Bismarck at the Bismarck Downtown Artist Cooperative. The exhibition will conclude its travel schedule in Grand Forks in March, opening March 4 at the High Plains Fair Housing Center.

Artist Receptions for Fargo and Bismarck have been scheduled. In Fargo, the reception will take place on Wednesday, January 23 from 6-8 p.m. at the Plains Art Museum. In Bismarck, the reception will take place on Friday, February 1 from 6-8 p.m. at the Bismarck Downtown Artist Cooperative. The Artist Reception for Grand Forks at the High Plains Fair Housing Center is presently being scheduled to take place in March. Additional information about all receptions will be announced in the near future.

All exhibitions and receptions are free and open to the public.

The North Dakota Human Rights Arts Festival is supported through the generosity of the Consensus Council. The Fargo portion of the exhibition is made possible by through a Community Arts Partnership Project grant through The Arts Partnership, the generosity of the City of Fargo’s Human Relations Commission, the City of Fargo’s Native American Commission and through a partnership the North Dakota Human Rights Coalition. Established in 2017, the mission of the North Dakota Human Rights Arts Festival is to educate, engage and facilitate discussion around local and word-wide human rights topics through the work of artists.

For more information about the festival, visit www.human-family.org.

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