ARTRAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE

ArtRage Gallery brings justice through the community.

Words by Roxanne Boychuk

Just about a mile down the hill from the SU campus sits ArtRage, a one-room gallery with versatile exhibits that portray the ever-changing world around us. The gallery illustrates the fluctuating climate, the environment, global crises and social justice issues. Although the exhibit has a Board of Directors and many volunteers, the staff consists of two women, Gallery Director and founder Rosie Trippiano and Community Engagement Organizer Kimberley McCoy.

ArtRage’s mission is to engage with the community to promote cultural awareness and change through artwork. McCoy said that collaborating with community members is really a part of everything ArtRage does.

“ArtRage is interested in continuing to grow our reach in the community at large; we’re always seeking new partnerships, and we want to stay relevant to the issues facing Syracuse, the U.S., and the world,” she said.

When visiting the gallery, the community engagement aspect of ArtRage immediately made itself known. A family was sitting at a table, painting landscapes on glass together. Five exhibits were on display, all covering separate issues. One artist, Christine Chin, portrayed an oceanic species and its ecosystem. Chin worked in collaboration with summer research student Wei Zhengrui who studied the species and its ecosystem. Another displayed stop-motion animations of dust storms across different states and regions. There was also artwork showing a map of America with different species of birds and where they live. The birds came in different shapes and colors, capturing a vibrant map.

McCoy said including the community was something that took a lot of work but over the years, it became more impactful and successful.

“When we opened our doors in 2008, we had some pushback from some people in the community and from funders feeling that we were not really an arts organization because of our focus on social justice and not really a social justice organization because of our focus on the arts,” McCoy said. “Over the past 15 years, I think the community, and the ‘art world’ in general, has really embraced socially relevant art and sees its value.”

ArtRage had an entire exhibit on a suffering village in Ukraine in February, which moved the people in our community due to how it reflected the effects of the Russian-Ukrainian war. McCoy also highlighted one of their most beloved exhibits, “Change-Makers,” which honored local elderly women.

“Something that I appreciate about ArtRage [is that] we are interested in exhibiting work about as many issues as possible, and in the process, we hope that our visitors can make connections across these issues,” McCoy said.