Two University of Arizona students aspired to bring the community closer by talking about gun violence through an interactive art exhibit held on campus.

“A Memorial for Past and Potential Gun Victims” was held in the Lionel Rombach Gallery, accross from the Center for Creative Photography, and ran from from Sept. 5 until Sept. 13. The exhibit aimed to bring awareness to the consequences of gun violence in America through art, according to the creators. 

Co-curated by Elena Makansi and Martin Krafft, two graduate students in the College of Fine Arts, the exhibit utilized “creative ways to develop empathy and community,” according to Krafft. 

The exhibit invited anyone from the community to trace photographs of people who lost their lives to gun violence. Participants had the option to hang their tracings up on a wall in the gallery for other attendees to see.

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“The act of using your hands to trace [a victim’s] face is very intimate,” Makansi said. “It helps get people out of their comfort zone and put themselves in that situation.” 

Participants were also presented with the option to trace photos of themselves or loved ones and hang those tracings on the wall with the victims. They were then asked to write a reflection on the experience. 

According to Makansi, the aim was for participants to gain a “greater understanding to see how they’d feel if it were their family” that experienced a loss due to gun violence. 

The exhibit was a continuation of the collaborative, interactive vigil “Who Will Be Next? A Memorial for Victims of the Next Mass Shooting,” a vigil that Snowflakes, the group that Makansi and Krafft founded, held with Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America and March For Our Lives.

“[‘A Memorial for Past and Potential Gun Violence Victims’] is more of a performance piece that acts as a vigil for the victims,” Makansi said. 

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Another objective behind the exhibit was to make artists and non-artists alike feel welcome at an art gallery, according to Krafft.

“We wanted to challenge the idea of who makes and owns art and invite anyone to come play a role in the work,” Krafft said. “Art is for everybody. We wanted to recognize that non-art people can be apart of something artistic, too.”

Both Krafft and Makansi saw more than 50 people attend each session and said they look forward to continue their work in the arts.

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