What We Fund
"Guns in the Hands of Artists" Exhibition
In 1996 gallery owner Jonathan Ferrara and artist Brian Borrello organized the first Guns in the Hands of Artists exhibition in New Orleans—transforming guns removed from the city’s streets into original works of art. The persistence of violent gun crime in New Orleans and across America led Ferrara to reprise the project in October of 2014 at his eponymous gallery in New Orleans. This iteration of the exhibition features over thirty nationally known artists who used decommissioned guns from the streets of New Orleans to create original works of art dealing with the issue of guns in our society.
With underwriting support from The Helis Foundation and the City of New Orleans, Guns in the Hands of Artists was exhibited at the Aspen Institute during the 2015 Aspen Ideas Festival and the Aspen Action Forum. As part of an examination of violence in this country, the Aspen Ideas Festival presented a panel discussion on “Guns in the Hands of Artists: Change through the Lens of Art”, featuring artists Brian Borrello, Ron Bechet, MK Guth and Bradley McCallum.
