On Violence is a new performance by Julian Louis Phillips inspired by the Frantz Fanon text of the same name and the artist’s research for his exhibition and counter-narrative project The Strategic Response Group (TSRG). This multimedia live performance will take place in the Queens Museum galleries and explore the themes related to state violence, popular resistance, and imagining the future of protest. 

Presented as part of the Year of Uncertainty, Phillips’ installation centers on the psychological and physical presence of the police, referencing police training manuals, protest banners and “civil disorder” tactics.  Experimenting with new methodologies and conceptual frameworks, the exhibition has evolved over time with elements such as sculptures, drawings, posters, films, and a series of collaborative youth workshops. Together these address the histories, strategies, and experiences of policing and protest, and explore transformative visions of abolition and an end to the carceral state. On Violence is presented in the context of The Strategic Response Group exhibition, investigating the rage that fuels protest and radicalization, and how that rage is perceived.

The approximate runtime for the performance is 45 minutes. 

RSVP is required at this link! Seating is limited.

Proof of COVID-19 vaccination and ID is required for entry to the museum, along with mandatory mask-wearing. More info here.

Bio
Julian Louis Phillips is a multidisciplinary artist working with performance, sculpture, video, and participatory practices. He is a graduate of Social Practice Queens at CUNY Queens College. Phillips is interested in socio-psychological dissonance and how it manifests in various forms of popular media. Mythologies around sport, national identity, and the police are where he finds material to explore the phenomenon of cognitive dissonance as a problem of perception. Phillips has been the recipient of the More Art Engaging Artist Fellowship, Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning Artist in Residency Fellowship, and NARS Foundation Residency. He has exhibited and performed throughout the region, including the Southeast Queens Biennial at York College and Jamaica Center for Arts & Learning (JCAL), Jamaica, NY and New York Live Arts, New York, NY. Phillips resides in his birthplace of Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn.