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years, Johnny's has been primarily occupied by white people, be it <br />employees or customers. My hope was that the tables would <br />symbolize the songs of freedom that black people used to <br />communicate if they were safe or not. <br />Carrboro has many Black Liv es Matter signs, but as a person of <br />color, I realize I need more than one sign to know that I am welcomed <br />and safe. Since the Turning The Tables project, I hav e watched more <br />people come into the yard, taking pictures, speaking to the artists; I <br />am watching the community blossom. <br />Prev ious IAS and Friends ev ents hav e been funded by resource <br />pooling, ticket sales, personal funds, and community support. This <br />rendition uses funds from people who support my work. I am seeking <br />additional funding from the OCAC to support artist payments. <br />Community Impact I hope the artists' work will inspire people who v isit Johnny's to keep <br />allowing themselv es to be challenged, changed, and transformed, <br />and to be courageous when they see injustice. The art is meant to be <br />a reminder of just how powerful we are when we are all united! I <br />believ e courage is a muscle and we hav e to liv e in a place where we <br />work to stop injustices, eradicate systems of abuse and hard. To do <br />this we hav e to be AW ARE, we hav e to notice, in our liv es how and <br />why we hav e become complacent, stagnant and no longer choosing <br />to grow. The art on the tables is a subtle reminder and inv itation to <br />engage with injustice and to be part of the change. Their artists' work <br />is already sparking conv ersations, drawing new people and changing <br />the culture of the space. I hav e seen white people with the black <br />artists in healthy ways, often uncommon to witness. The artists' work <br />is becoming more and more like a sanctuary for ev eryone whose <br />desire is to build authenticity and relationships, build safe spaces, <br />and elicit community conv ersations. <br />Being able to financially inv est in black and brown artists is a direct <br />inv estment in indiv iduals and community. Paying black and brown <br />people for their labors, artistic, emotional and otherwise, is to inv est <br />in equity and community. Here are the artists who will be directly <br />impacted and who hav e been a part of Turning The Tables: <br />Tyrone Smalls (https://www.instagram.com/ty_thegreat88/) <br />Ahanayzha Mabry (https://www.instagram.com/micki.ee/) <br />Tyamica Mabry (https://www.instagram.com/typesofher/) <br />Terelle Smith (https://www.instagram.com/rell_art7/) <br />Kaleb McLaurin (https://www.instagram.com/k.retro_/) <br />Brandon Hampton (https://www.instagram.com/uglass_milk/) <br />Ajani Anderson (https://www.instagram.com/ajanielyse_artstuffs/) <br />DocuSign Envelope ID: 4172ECB7-1F6D-4340-8628-7AE14D0B5DF5