Exhibition Essay

EVICTIONS: Art and the Politics of Urban Renewal considers what it means to be "evicted." Eviction - as a type of forced, large scale displacement or ejection - is only one side effect of gentrification. An eviction implies not only involuntary removal and displacement but also a type of social cleansing. To be evicted is to be forced out but also to be refurbished, made anew, repackaged. The show makes the case that people are not the only things that can be evicted. Cultural symbols such as graffiti can be evicted from public sight as well, particularly as cities strive to manufacture a clean, pristine, gentrified image. The artists in the show are not united by a single medium but by their critical reflections on the impact that evictions have on the urban fabric.