Melanie Olivia, Miami, FL artist with “Thoughts, Prayers and Inaction”, 2018, Mixed media, 54 x 24 inches in “Deadlocked and Loaded”. Melanie Olivia is also an activist artist/curator and I hope we can work on projects together in the future. That is my last positive thought for the moment. I’ve been so disheartened since the shootings in Atlanta and Boulder but now I am just angry, furious. These shootings are happening over and over again. We say that this has to be the moment when we something is done, we can’t afford not to act, but Americans are being killed, literally every day, day after day, year after year. Background checks, cooling off periods — none of this violates the 2nd Amendment. Yet I’m sure that nothing will every change. And forget about an assault weapon ban. There does not seem to be the political will, with politicians with one hand out offering meaningless platitudes of “thoughts and prayers” and the other hand in is the pocket of the NRA. Holding onto power is more important than saving lives.
Olivia says, “This kinetic sculpture was inspired by Marjory Stoneman Douglas student Emma González, who asked politicians to stop playing with kids’ lives. Florida Senator Marco Rubio is shown juggling red balls that say “Thoughts”, “Prayers” and “Inaction”, along with assault rifles, photos of students and a stack of NRA money. Rubio chose campaign funding from the NRA and the will of his GOP donors over protecting the youth in our community, so his hands are depicted covered in their blood. This double-sided protest sign was featured in The Nation Magazine and a video of the sign in motion went viral on social media before the 2018 march where it was deployed.”
Previously an award-winning Creative Director in Chicago, Melanie Oliva uses her honed aesthetic and conceptual skills to advocate for Earth and her inhabitants—through collaborative paintings, kinetic sculptures, activism and group art activations. While originally from Nashville, Melanie and her husband have also lived in Amsterdam, Chicago and now Miami. She has won over 30 awards for art direction including multiple Addy and Reggie Awards.
Melanie founded artist collective Inspiration Pollination, collective/online magazine The Artful Activist and co-organized a nationwide Artist March in 2017. She was a 2018-2019 Art & Social Practice Resident for ProjectArt and has also taught art for the City of North Miami, the Bass Museum and the Museum of Contemporary Art North Miami.
Learn more at melanieoliva.com and theartfulactivist.com and @melanieolivaartist
