One Year of Change By Carleigh Foutch
kionawootonmillirons
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70 likes kionawootonmillirons #grieving Day 16 Laundry Laundry seems to be the only thing that I can focus on and accomplish. So I’ve done a lot of laundry. I went to the studios today for the first time. I only lasted two hours. Work seems too overwhelming right now. So I picked out aprons, rags and drop cloths to wash. I’ve always said how grateful I’ve been to be close to my cousins. We grew up together. Fawn and Maggie were six days apart and very close. Farris and I were the older sister and brother that would spy, torture and pester Fawn and Maggie. We all share similar childhood experiences (good and bad) which seems to have tied us together. We are all hurting so much but I’m thankful that we have each other. Cousins really are the best friends you could ever have. I feel like my voice has been yanked away today. I don’t have the energy to project my voice. But I also feel as if no one can hear me. I need to get me voice back because I need to scream as loud as I can about what happened to my sister. It is not ok. I need to fight for her. I feel so tiny ad helpless right ow. I hope my voice comes back...for Fawn. #justiceforamberfawnclark View all 13 comments mandisue3810 I love you. I’m sending you all the love and light. kindtstevenmyers Sending you love and light. Nobody else’s timeline applies here. Just remember to breathe in and breathe out.
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caroladams1509 Your voice will come back, loud and strong, for Fawn denisemccallister211 Sending you so much love and comfort and strength right now December 27, 2018
An incredibly moving and timely conversation surrounding gun violence is coming to Oklahoma City University’s Nona Jean Hulsey gallery in 2021. One Year, a visualization of Kiona Millirons’ raw and personal experience with grief, may change the way we see and think about social media being a form of documentation, storytelling, and art. A terrible tragedy befell Millirons and her family when her sister, Amber Clark, was shot and killed in 2018. “My Instagram diary became a way to work through my grief,” Millirons
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said. “It began for myself, then for my family and close friends. Then I began hearing from others who knew my sister from all over the country. It created a connection that has become so important for my journey through grief. People told stories that I’d never heard, I saw photographs that I’d never seen, and I felt closer to my sister. Opening myself up publicly has opened the door for others to express their grief. I feel connected to people more than I ever have.” While Millirons didn’t start her Instagram diary with the intention of it becoming art, it caught the eye of friend, OCU professor, and now One Year curator, Heather Lunsford.
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One Year, Day 16, Kiona shares her story about dealing with her grief
“In curating this show, I was reflecting on the intersection of art and social media—how those worlds interact and inform each other, and sometimes even overlap,” Lunsford said. “It really fascinated me because people use social media for social interaction, stress relief, and thinking about the world—things art also does.” Millirons approached Lunsford with the notion of exploring the idea of an art show about gun violence and how it impacts both communities and individuals on a searingly visceral level. Working in tandem, Millirons and Lunsford selected 36 reconstructed Instagram posts from
