Join us on Thursday, June 24 from 6–7:30 p.m. outside of the Franklin and Friendship stores and streaming on Facebook for live DJs, community art-making, and the ceremonial donation of artists’ 2020 murals to Memorialize the Movement.

Before the event, you can download our free virtual Abolition Art Kit. This kit has resources and ideas for you and your family to create your own art at home as a reminder of your commitment to anti-racism in 2021 and beyond.

Through the summer of 2020, we experienced the way art can metabolize, mobilize, heal and inspire in the movement for racial justice. Join Seward Co-op along with Eastside, Mississippi Market, and TCCP Co-ops as we honor and celebrate the protest art of this past year while deepening our commitment to racial justice in our community. We’ll gather on Thursday, June 24 for outdoor, COVID-safe gatherings focused on art and abolition within our co-op communities.

Last summer, Seward Co-op invited local, BIPOC-led artist groups to create murals on the plywood at our stores as a canvas to express emotions and grief, and to support the community in metabolizing trauma in the wake of the murder of George Floyd. We invited the community to participate with music and chalk art. You can see photos and information on the artists from that day here.

The majority of the murals at Seward Co-op were weatherproofed and remained displayed at the stores over the past year. The murals at these stores continued to have positive impacts on the immediate communities surrounding the stores, particularly the Friendship store, given its close proximity to George Floyd Square. With permission from the artists, Seward Co-op is now donating these works of art to Memorialize the Movement (MTM), a grassroots organization working to collect and preserve the protest art created in the wake of the murder of George Floyd. A small number of these were on display at the MTM mural exhibition at Phelps Park.

On Thursday, June 24 from 6–7:30 p.m., join us outside of the Franklin and Friendship stores for music, conversation with the artists, and opportunities to create art and signs you can bring to future community actions or display at your home. Muralists will be doing live painting and as co-op members, we will express our commitments to the movement in 2021 and beyond.

What does it mean to be an abolitionist today?
How will we further engage in racial justice movements as co-op members?
What does it mean to commit to Black liberation as a co-op community? What will we commit to?

We’ll also be livestreaming the event, with conversations with Leesa Kelly, founder of Memorialize the Movement, Seward Co-op Board members, and some of the artists who shared their talents with our community. Following the event, the remaining 2020 murals will be officially donated to Memorialize the Movement.

Everyone is welcome and RSVP not required; however, if you register below you will receive an email from Eventbrite that contains an event reminder and livestream link before the event.

The event series “Co-op Community Conversations: Exploring the intersection of racial, social, and food justice” is presented by Eastside Food Co-op, Mississippi Market Food Co-op, Seward Community Co-op, and Twin Cities Co-op Partners as a way to examine and connect our cooperative values with social justice movements.