"Shape the Peace" is an audio address in the style of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's "Fireside Chats." Running approximately 5 minutes, the video message - delivered through audio by co-creator and actor Regan Linton and through performance with American Sign Language with actor Monique Holt - aims to uplift FDR-style leadership and create a grounded and accessible call to action for addressing current global challenges. We created "Shape the Peace" during the first summer of COVID in 2020, following the murder of George Floyd, and amidst the disconnection and isolation many people were experiencing. We were particularly keen to make the offering more accessible for folks with different sensory input through captioning, ASL, visual and audio performance, knowing that folks with disabilities were experiencing a unique type of isolation during the pandemic, and were also frequently not considered in many of the other virtual offerings that were being created. --Label design by exhibit curator Nancy DeJoy. Labels written by Ben Lash and his team in consultation with artist statements.
