In honor of Election Day, we`re presenting two textile works by Hank Willis Thomas in our current solo exhibition of the artist`s work, along with a new blog post, Seen in the Gallery from intern Sabrina Bonavita `26.

Textile works "We The People" and "Justice" function in similar manners. Sabrina notes, "Initially, the blue and white stripes [in `We The People`] appear decorative and cryptic. Yet, by shifting your perspective, the opening phrase of the U.S. Constitution reveals itself. These words assert that governmental authority derives from us, citizens, united in shared power. [Thomas] creates the text from decommissioned prison uniforms, asking the uncomfortable question: Who has truly been included in `We the People,` and who has been systemically excluded? Thomas’s work exposes the enduring gap between the democracy we claim and the democracy we live."

To read more from Sabrina, visit “Blog Posts and News” at the link in our bio.
And...get out there and VOTE today!

Images:
Artwork by Hank Willis Thomas
"We the People," 2025, Mixed media, including decommissioned prison uniforms.Courtesy of the Artist and Jack Shainman Gallery.
Justice (Red), 2021, Mixed media, including decommissioned American flags. Collection of Jordan D. Schnitzer.

Installation photography: Brian Quinby.

"Hank Willis Thomas: We The People" is currently on view in the Van Every/Smith Galleries, Belk Visual Arts Center through February 1, 2026. ...

“Freedom Riders (“knowing what must be done does away with fear”)” is a UV-printed retroreflective vinyl and overlaminate on Dibond part of Hank Willis Thomas’s exhibition, “We The People,” currently on view in the Galleries. The title of the work is a quote from Rosa Parks, who, refusing to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1955 sparked the Montgomery bus boycott and helped launch the Civil Rights Movement, including inspiring the actions taken by the Freedom Riders. In “Freedom Riders,” the artist depicts twelve women who rode interstate buses into the segregated Southern beginning in 1961 to protest and challenge local laws and customs—specifically the refusal of some Southern states to acknowledge the United States Supreme Court decisions Morgan v. Virginia (1946) and Boynton v. Virginia (1960) had ruled that segregated public buses were unconstitutional. The women become visible when you shine a light on the work (or take a photograph using a flash). “We The People” is currently open seven days a week, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. on weekdays, until 7 p.m. on weekends and from 12-4 p.m. on weekends (stay tuned for holiday closures). ...

Listen to the playlist entitled “A Playlist of the People, By the People, For the People – A Companion to We the People” created by student intern Caleb Machorro ‘28. Also read his blog post discussing the playlist and Hank Willis Thomas’s current exhibit in the VAC. The link to the playlist and the blog post is under the “Blog Posts and News” feature in our bio. ...

What a moving, important week of events around “With These Hands: A Memorial to the Enslaved and Exploited.” Hank Willis Thomas’s exhibition, “We The People,” currently on view in the Galleries, presents a small sculpture based on the commission permanently installed nearby Oak and Elm Row. “We The People” is a patinated and polished bronze work measuring ~8 x 18 x 24 inches. Come see both works on campus and learn more about our efforts to publicly acknowledge and commemorate the contributions of enslaved laborers who worked in nearly every area of the college’s operations, many whose names remain unknown. “We The People” is currently open seven days a week, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. on weekdays, until 7 p.m. on weekends and from 12-4 p.m. on weekends (stay tuned for holiday closures). Come see both works on campus and learn more about our efforts to publicly acknowledge and commemorate the contributions of enslaved laborers who worked in nearly every area of the college’s operations, many whose names remain unknown. ...