Dropbox and 72andSunny Los Angeles bring together artists to showcase their activism at SXSW

Dropbox in partnership with 72andSunny Los Angeles, brought together six-purpose driven artists to showcase their activism through art by making co-creation pieces that amplify creative energy.  Tied to prominent SXSW agenda themes throughout opening weekend, these artists, each with a distinct style, commissioned three murals to address relevant issues in today’s society. 

Two artists worked side by side, merging their styles. By finding outspoken artists around specific causes,  Dropbox unleashed differing energies to raise their voices for human rights, environmentalism and a reimagined future. The 3 events were:

Friday, March 9th – Reimagine the Future
Saturday, March 10th – Environmentalism
Sunday, March 11th – Human Rights
 
The artists who took part were:

Theme: Reimagine the Future

Shawna X – An artist and visual designer residing in New York, working with various media including digital, traditional, motion and physical and spatial experience. Her work exhibits interest in vibrancy and contortion to evoke energy, seduction and morbid curiosity. Beyond editorial and commercial clients working with brands on activation and collaborations, she also exhibits work in various galleries, and is currently working on a solo show in Brooklyn.

Rachell Sumpter  – An Ameri can artist working in Seattle, Washington, Sumpter’s exhibitions have included solo exhibitions at the Richard Heller Gallery and her work has also been showcased in group exhibitions at the OCMA and LACMA, among others. Her work has been featured in Juxtapoz magazine and reviewed in Artforum. She is also an art professor at Seattle Pacific University. In addition to her artwork, Sumpter maintains a commercial illustration practice for which she has won numerous awards. Her past clients include Chronicle Books, Royal Academy of Dance, Penguin Random House and the New York Times.

Theme: Environmentalism

Ben Sanders – A multi-disciplinary artist whose practice encompasses a wide array of media and techniques. In addition to his paintings, drawings and sculptures, he is known for creating large murals and immersive environments that often double as sites for social experiences. His work has been exhibited throughout the country and internationally. Sanders’ studio also makes commissioned work for commercial clients, some of which have included Nike, Bloomberg, and The New York Times. He lives and works in Los Angeles, California.

Maxwell McMaster – Born in Sacramento California and currently living and working in Los Angeles, Maxwell’s work typically takes inspiration from his native state. Maxwell uses color, shape, and texture to enhance and deepen scenes from his travels and everyday life. The result is abstract and minimal in design, but somehow complex in appearance. The images invite the viewer to reflect on life and its mysteries, while reminding us of the beauty within. Maxwell is proud to be the first of his family to graduate with a degree, and he’s humbled everyday by the people who love and support his work.

Theme: Human Rights

Stacey Rozich – Stacey is a Los Angeles-based artist and illustrator. Her work combines folkloric vignettes with the trappings of popular culture and consumerism. These narratives are pulled from a realm of familiar archetypes and traditions with influences from world textiles and the many hours spent watching television as a kid.

Matt Leines – From the dawn of this century, Matt Leines has produced a steady flow of fine art to delight and confound viewers — drawings and paintings rich in color and detail — exploring the kaleidoscope of memory and outer zones of imagination. He possesses a workmanlike approach to symbolism and surrealism; the poet’s ability to realize longed-for images. The world moves in patterns, faces unfixed, lines dancing across pyramid walls. Perspective is subservient to a unique modernist iconography; his characters operate in a kind of abstract epic or post-Columbian codex that blurs pure myth and daily life. Leines lives and works in Brooklyn. Vignettes from the Zenith City Archives, his most recent collection of drawings, was recently published by Nieves Books. His work has been shown at Deitch Projects, Clementine Gallery, and The Hole in New York; Roberts and Tilton and New Image Art in Los Angeles; as well as international venues in Sweden, Italy, Spain, Greece and Japan.

Links

https://www.dropbox.com

https://www.72andsunny.com/contact/los-angeles

https://www.sxsw.com/

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