Murals for the Movement at The MFA
NO WEAPON FORMED AGAINST THEE SHALL PROSPER | 2020
CEY ADAMS SOPHIA DAWSON VICTOR “MARKA27” QUINONEZ ROB “PROBLAK” GIBBS ROB STULL
CURATED BY LIZA QUINONEZ | STREET THEORY GALLERY
No Weapon Formed Against Thee Shall Prosper represents a collaboration between five legendary street artists and muralists: New York City-based Cey Adams, Sophia Dawson, and Marka27; and Boston’s own Problak and Rob Stull.
Created at a time of deep social and political unrest, uprising, and awakening due to countless incidents of police violence against Black People and People of Color, it is dedicated to the victims of police brutality and mass incarceration.
MFA Installation. Photo Credit: Lee Hopkins for Owley
Murals for the Movement
Murals for the Movement is a crowdfunded public art initiative designed to rebuild and reimagine communities by enhancing and amplifying opportunities for diverse, culturally inspired and intersectional artwork by Black Artists and Artists of Color who use large-scale public art to express a strong sense of civic and social justice engagement. The initiative is curated by Street Theory Gallery (@streettheorygallery).
The unjust killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and countless others have sparked outrage and uprising across the nation. In many of these cities, our murals have served as backdrops during massive protests as reminders of the beauty, hope and justice that we all strive for. We hope to create a dialogue and inspire artists, organizers and communities to support each other through creative outlets that help spread awareness and crucial information needed to protect, uplift, and most importantly empower victims of racial and social injustice. Supporting Black Artists and Artists of Color is pivotal to the reimagining of more diverse, multicultural, and tolerant cities, neighborhoods, institutions and communities.
This initiative aims to:
Redistribute wealth and resources to BIPOC Artists
Beautify cities, communities and neighborhoods with diverse and culturally-inspired public art
Enhance and support equity in the art industry
ARTIST BIOS
CEY ADAMS
Born 1962 in New York City | Lives in Brooklyn, NY
Cey Adams is a Black American visual artist known for his role as a graffiti/street art/hip-hop pioneer and co-founder of Def Jam Recordings’ in-house visual design firm The Drawing Board, paints a black American flag with embedded multicultural patterns.
“I created a black American flag as a way to show the anger, frustration and sometimes joy of being a Black American living in America,” Adams says. “The black flag represents the absence of color in order for the audience to focus on the subject matter. My idea was to pull the color out to make you pay attention, to stop you dead in your tracks.”
SOPHIA DAWSON
Born 1988 in Brooklyn, NY | Lives in Brooklyn, NY
Sophia Dawson is a Brooklyn-based Black American visual artist, muralist, mother, believer and activist. She has been painting Black mothers who have lost their children due to police violence since 2012. Here she portrays a young George Floyd embraced in the arms of his mother.
“Focusing on the mothers who have lost their children,” Dawson says, “allows people to sympathize and empathize with People of Color in this country.”
VICTOR “MARKA27” QUINONEZ
Born 1977 in Juarez, Mexico | Lives in Brooklyn, NY
Mexican street artist Marka27 is largely inspired by multicultural influences. In “No Weapon Formed Against Us Shall Prosper”, he paints a portrait of Martin Luther King Jr. beside an African American female protestor with George Floyd's plea written across her mask: "Please I can't breathe.” The message "DON'T SHOOT!" appears in several languages, as a call for global solidarity against police and criminal systems that affect Black people and POC across the world.
ROB “PROBLAK” GIBBS
Born 1977 in Boston, MA | Lives in Dorchester, MA
MFA Artist in Residence
Problak is a Boston-based visual artist and organizer who has transformed the cultural landscape of Boston through graffiti art since 1991. His artistic process reflects visual storytelling informed by history, culture and community. Problak paints a woman's fist wrapped in a red, black, and green bandana, representing all women of color united in the fight for racial and social equality.
ROB STULL
Born 1968 in Boston, MA | Lives in Boston, MA
MFA Artist in Residence
Rob Stull is an accomplished illustrator, curator, teacher, designer and creator of comic books. In “No Weapons Formed Against Us…“ he incorporates Stars and Stripes in his iconic style. In addition to working through his own studio, Ink on Paper, he has worked over two decades for every major publisher in the industry, and created and curated Sequential Art: The Next Step, a first of its kind 10-year traveling exhibition spotlighting the work of African American comic book artists and their contributions to the industry and popular culture, and his work has been exhibited in galleries throughout the United States.