a 91 of us event
Chair Display
91 chairs are arranged to represent the 91 lives who will be lost from gun violence today and everyday until we address this issue properly. On each chair is a t-shirt with 1 of US printed on it as a reminder that these are our fellow Americans, and we should be invested in fighting to protect. These shirts are separated by color to presented the demographics they symbolize ( red for suicide, blue for homicide, or yellow for accidental or unintentional) to help people put the forms of gun violence into perspective. Seeing this display of the 91 adds a human element to the static number and illicits an emotional response as it helps viewers contextualize the real human impact of this issue.
Infographic Posters
After viewers see the 91 chair display there are several infographic posters which provide a deeper dive into the statistics on gun violence in America. These give a deeper explanation why gun violence needs to be approached from various angels and why guns are an integral part of conversations around issues like domestic violence and suicide. These posters can be viewed in the gallery and sources can be found here (this will link to a page).
Local group activation
The final piece of a 91 of US event is hosting several local and national groups who are working to address this issue from the multifaceted ways it needs to be addressed. It is pivotal to capture people who were just emotionally impacted and educated by these statistics and immediately give them ways that they can talk to their family and friends about this situation more knowledgeably. Teaching individuals how they can be involved in their community and support groups working to address this issue empowers them to help end this epidemic. This includes groups discussing.
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Suicide / Mental Health
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Domestic Violence prevention and intervention
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Violent Crime preventions and out reach programs
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Gun law activists
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Gun Safety and safe storage information
Ultimately what we hope that people learn is that this number does not need to stay as high as it is. Lowering it will undoubtably require political debates and conversations, but even if you don’t support those things there are several ways we can help people who may be at risk for gun violence and try to offer them support before a tragedy happens
This conversation is anchored in the belief that we can do better and attempting to save these American lives need not be a partisan issues.
In addition to these main pieces of a 91 of US even speakers can be added to expand on any and all of these aspects of this issue. In the past we’ve had doctors discussing whatever and groups talking about how veterans are specifically at risk of suicide etc. etc.
Follow up education has also been added for health care professionals.
Where did we start:
91of US was created by D.C. Art Student Caileigh Nerney. The social practice artwork started as senior thesis project in preparation for graduation. After listening to a five thirty eight podcast, I learned about their project “Gun violence in America”. Their research breaks down the various forms of gun violence in the US and discusses some matters which have been taken to address them. I found this work to be really eye opening and
knew I wanted my project to share this information. The next 8 months were spent designing assets, crowd funding, organizing local groups, securing a permit for the national mall and various other planning. On March 18, 2017 the first 91 of US event happened on the National Mall, we engaged over 100 people from 20+ states and 5 countries. One women cried upon seeing the display and how many were lost daily. A man recalled how he lost his father to suicide with a gun and how that has since affected 3 generations of his family. A veteran explained some specific reasons seeking mental health care is difficult for their communities. Each group received new supporters and were able to educate viewers on their power to make change. When we saw the powerful effect this event had we knew we had to do it again. Luckily Hackensack Meridian Health saw the necessity for this issue to be addressed as a public health matter and has partnered with us to continue the program as an education tool for healthcare professionals and communities.
In the media
91 of Us was Featured in the Washington Post March 19, 2017
91 of Us was chosen for the Connorsmith Gallery Show "Academy 2017"
