Ezra Dickinson Dance, Art, & Performance

Link to virtual tour of the exhibition.

The content of this show centers on police violence, bigotry, lack of concern for human life, greed, corruption, incarceration, and the glorification of war, amongst feelings of distress, frustration, and injustice. Who’s Offended might not be suitable for sensitive audiences (language) parental discretion is advised.

The artwork was generated with the aim of recycling as much old materials as possible. Scrap adhesive vinyl, latex paint, cardboard, all repurposed into the works displayed. The space to create this work over the course of two years was donated: thank you to Punk Rock Flea Market, Nii Modo, The Bemis Building, Cannonball Arts, The Muckleshoot Tribe, Degenerate Art Ensemble, and of course Base Camp 2 for providing the space for the exhibition.

The works on paper come from years of creating messages for the street and public consumption. It is the artist’s intention to invite anyone who has access to offer up locations for these paper works to be placed out in the streets. Got a spot you want to see this work, it could be a wall, or a building, or inside a warehouse, or on a bus, or in your living room. Reach out and start a conversation: ezramdickinson@gmail.com

For the opening of the show an evening of entertainment was curated by Ezra featuring spoken word by Nahaan, performance duet by Donald Byrd and Ezra Dickinson, the band Seize the Means played a set, and DJ WIZDUM was the sandwich of the evening providing revolutionary sounds for the start, inbetweens and to close down the night. To end the exhibition DJ WIZDUM came through again to provide an evening of sounds to dance the show to a close.

Throughout the show every Friday at 3pm, there was a live and open to the public reading conducted by Ezra, of the typewriter submissions. The typewriter submissions were an interactive element of WHO’S OFFENDED, show attendees were prompted to interact though the portal of a manual typewriter. Prompts for submission were provided in the form of three categories, Requests for Apology, Sharing of a Confession, or Open Share. This anonymous interactive offering was aimed to provide the gallery goer a chance to express anything that might arise while viewing the show, or share something that might have been weighing on the mind of the attendee related or unrelated. This element offered a path to both feel in a tactile sense via the typewriter the feeling of capturing one’s thoughts and further to give the participant a way to add to the textual fabric of the exhibition. All readings were filmed and will be compiled into a short film for viewing, link coming soon.

It has become a yearly tradition for me to spend a month up in the high mountains of Colorado, visiting my long time friends who generously host me. A creative and restful escape, time to think, walk for miles, climb mountains, investigate forgotten structures, add my artwork to the landscape, draw the world around me, cook great food, and think about the future. All this while spending each night overwhelmed by the number of visible stars in the night sky.

SYA Poster (2024)

Poster commissioned by Shout Your Abortion (2024)

I am always so very happy to create for the rights and liberties of women across this country. I have for many years now partnered with Shout Your Abortion to lend a hand getting out the message in support of a woman’s right to choose. This year among other moments I got to design, paint and install this huge poster. I’m proud that my history starting as a graffiti artist has led me to being involved in adding such vital messages to our public space.

Image published in the Detroit Metro Times.

Atomic Bong (2024)

Correspondents Music video (2024)

It’s easy when working with friends. While it might have taken us a bit longer to get this going then we expected, Doug Arney and I created another wild music video for the Correspondents. I truly appreciate collaboration with friends, there is an earned trust that we draw from knowing that having fun is the biggest priority. Ideas grow and transform freely, our expectations are happily met and creativity takes us on a journey. Please take a look at our new creation and ask yourself, what is the story being told here?

Past Correspondents videos:

Drinking with Destructo

Manifest Destinys Child

BUTTER (2024)

Cearmic butter dish (2024)

Ceramic hand built butter dish. Cone 5 with over glaze. Created for a butter party, purchased by a huge fan of butter.

BIG BOWLS (2022-present)

Ongoing project, big ceramic bowls of words. (2022-present)

Big ceramic bowls of words, allows for the text to capture a larger idea or sentiment. Turning the act of reading the text on a big bowl into a physical performance of sorts, or a puzzle if you like. Words and quotes that deserve a chance at imortality, a chance to speak for humanity far off in the future. As always if you would like to commission a custom phrase, contact ezra at: ezramdickinson@gmail.com

Artville (2023)

(2023) Artville Residency

For the month of September I was in residence at Artville, in the town of Leadville CO. This is time and space for me to detach from my normal routines and activities. Letting rest be front of mind, while away from my home. These are my overarching thoughts while there. Taking more time to see what’s around me, “don’t rush, everything will find its place”.

Drawing points of interest in the town of Leadville. I am so happy to sit and draw a location for hours. Watching the town go by, making choices about the shapes my hand is creating with the pen. I really do like this place (Leadville) it’s a strange mixture of old and welcoming.

While in Leadville Groucho and I created a public sculpture for the community farm. While one must witness this sculpture in person to experience its proposed powers. We named this creation the Intergalactic Squire Portal.

I didn’t walk as much this time and that was just fine. Surrounded by the mountains I can’t stop staring at the outline of the peaks, the snow hiding in the shadows until the sun finally melts it, and then another storm walks through. I want to be in Leadville for the winter one of these years, I know it will be far more than I actually want in regards to snow and cold. I just want it to snow as hard as it can, and keep snowing for months.

Noisy Waters mural (2023)

(2023) Noisy Waters mural

Back in my hometown of Bellingham, for the first annual Noisey Waters Mural festival. Three days to meet new friends, and paint in the sun. I have never officially participated in a mural festival before, this was a fun new experience and a great opportunity to meet painters from near and far. So very interesting to see how each artist goes about creating large scale works.

FREE THE YOUTH (2023)

(2023) cardboard sculpture, performance and film

Let me preface this by saying, youth incarceration is a mistake made by a society that has lost its ability to properly care for its youngest citizens. In my experience American incarceration aims at nothing more than to punish, no real path to rehabilitation is ever encouraged, only creating comradery between those who have similar convictions sharing how to be a better criminal upon release. I’m pretty skeptical generally of locking anyone in a box and keeping them there, its even more obvious that locking a child in a box is just another form of torture. A trauma that we as a country continue to live through the results of on a daily basis. I constructed these 88” tall, 24” wide, 10” deep cardboard letters. Made entirely from recycled cardboard, wood glue, and recycled paint. The Degenerate Art Ensemble gave me space to construct March of 2023. I then organized a small parade to transport the letters to a new space provided by Nii Modo where they could be painted. Over the next three months the letters received a paint job, and the final parade was organized and executed. Involving the community in the paradeing of these letters to their final resting location outside the youth detention center in Seattle was a very satisfying conclusion to this journey. The final stage of the parade was attended by a writer (Claude Souvenir) capturing the reactions of the public to our FREE THE YOUTH walk.

Notes on a Procession. By Claude Souvenir

Concept, build, and direction by Ezra Dickinson

Sound Composed by WIZDUMB

Edited by Doug Arney

This project made possible with support from Degenerate Art Ensemble, Punk Rock Flea Market/NII MODO, Benjamin, Anthony, Dani, Nahaan, Maia, Hannah, Jodi, Paul, Aubry, Kristen, VK, Mandy, Cash, Shawn, Kaleb, Mallory, Jeffery, Victoria, Daniel, and Alison.