Michael Coppage

I’m thrilled to share my photo “Cookout” has been acquired by the @21chotels . The first of an edition of 3 was purchased by the museum for inclusion in their permanent collection. “Cookout” addresses the realities of our racist past and its impact on the present. Black people use the word cookout primarily as a substitute for the word picnic. Although the word picnic was originally a 17th Century French word, picque-nique, for Black Americans, the word picnic is inextricably tied to gruesome acts committed by Whites against our ancestors. Many Blacks lynched in the late 1800s through the mid-20th Century were lynched in settings appropriately described as picnic-like, in which families gathered outdoors to celebrate, socialize and eat (the victim on occasion). This piece addresses how the use of such language today continues to perpetuate trauma from a time past while simultaneously addressing the minimization, fatigue, and resistance to accepting, reconciling, and owning an equitable share of the Black trauma experience. Statements like “that was in the past,” “why can’t we move on,” and “I didn’t own slaves,” along with the ubiquitous photos found on the internet that reinforce the undervaluation of Black lives are inspiration for this work. Special thank you to @moremengallery and @steveredglasses for bringing more attention to this work. Thank you to @sybilkastorie @danny_gamble @lilchoppa_lyly @hideyofood @markellbanifinewines @hot_mocha_melanin @asha_ama @tmahoneee @ashatheartist for trusting the process and making this shot possible. 🫶🏾(Tell @instagram not to take my post down. I’m not violating community rules)

I have a few character based projects in the pipeline and a lot of you have seen me out in the real world as one or both of the characters. For all those who were wondering: I didn’t lose my mind. Not having a midlife crisis. …just committed to my practice and becoming what I need to be to realize the vision. Can’t wait to share some of it with you. Here is a 2 min sneak peak of both. Shot by the incredible Brandon Faris @bfaris @pocketdocsproject . Thanks dude. I’m incredibly humbled to be associated with you and all the magic you’re creating for the world. Please give him a follow and check out all the other pocket docs on the youtube channel. There are some interesting people in the world! Link in the bio.

This year my offering as a Truth and Healing grantee is a bronze sculpture entitled: “HANDS BEHIND YOUR BACK!” ….From the 12 Commandments series. Currently on view at the @freedomcenter . After an epic failure a few weeks prior to a successful reattempt, it’s difficult to know what the long term emotional impact might be. Honestly, I wouldn’t recommend this process. It’s physically and emotionally taxing and forced me to submit and cry my way through it. I’d be lying if I said I enjoyed making this work. It’s probably the most difficult thing I’ve ever attempted. I keep reminding myself “If it was easy, everybody would do it”- @monstatheengineer . Special shout out to @artswave , the Ohio Arts Council and all of the sponsors that made this project possible. Without funds like these, dreams remain dreams. Thank you to Dr. Stephanie Lampkin for installing and lighting the work without any real lead time. Big ups to the Fire Lab team, Jamie @cryingcaveman , Zach @zcsabatelli . This wouldn’t be possible without you. Also special thanks to Shane Hatfield and the crew at Casting Arts and Technology who granted me access to a knowledge base I could never get in school. It’s so beautiful to see the thing that lived in my head for so long out here living in the world. 9 more to go! . #12commandments #truthandreconcilliation #truthandinspiration #chateaucoppage #wax #bronze #maquette #altmonument #handsbehindyourback

I ever tell ya’ll how much I love collage? This is the first of a new body of collage works on view currently @thecarnegie .The remainder of the work will be at Site 1212 @artacademyofcincinnati beginning on September 27th 2024 for the @fotofocuscincinnati Biennial. #c _expo #pnwcollagecollective #chicagocollagecollective

Link in the bio. Shots fired!💥💥💥💥 A feeling has been brewing these last few years and I finally popped the cork. Thanks to @voyageohiomag for helping me make “good trouble”.

Your official invitation to my upcoming @fotofocuscincinnati exhibition “Humphrey Gets His Flowers” at site 1212 @artacademyofcincinnati . I’m so grateful to be included in this years Biennial. Show opens 9/27/24. Still have lots of work to do but it’s coming together nicely.

I wouldn’t believe it if it wasn’t on video. More life @samanthagaylebullock @tonysha__ 🫶🏾

Shout out to all of the families, friends and community members who came out to the dedication ceremony for “Off to See the Wizard”, my second site-based permanent public artwork. I have the distinct satisfaction to have made this work in the community I live in. Seeing the space activated in this way was a reminder of why we need works like this. Work EVERYONE from elementary to elderly can understand, enjoy and see themselves reflected in. A nod to the history of the Price Hill community while incorporating present day themes and the intersectionality of a lived experience. Thank you to @cincylibrary and the library foundation, @artworkscincy , @shpdesign_ , @aa.safety and the over 400 voices from this community who created the foundation for this work. This work is dedicated to you. #publicart #librarylove #chateaucoppage #2023 #2024 #cincy #cincinnati #cincinnatihistory

It’s amazing what can be done in 27 hours. The challenge was simple: Build a light-based work of art with an assigned team in an assigned location with no prior preparation. Thank you @blinkcincinnati @the_agar_co @cincynice for all the preparation that went into camp this weekend. Hanging out and collaborating with some of the most creative people from the city in the woods was a trip! The inaugural Camp Blink was a success!

Please join us for an upcoming group exhibition “Hearts Of Liberation” @khartscenter . Unfortunately, I will miss the opening as I will be traveling but please pull up to support the talented group of artists selected for this exhibition. Repost: Through a curated collective of artworks gleaned from a public open call and special invitations, this show explores the radical and transformative power of Black love from each artist’s’ individual point of view. The exhibition opens this Saturday, May 4th with a celebration of art and music. Free entry and light refreshments will be provided. This exhibit runs from May 4-June 29. Be sure to mark your calendars for our curator talk with Asha the Artist on Saturday, June 1, 2024 at 1pm. Exhibiting Artists: Zuri Ali, Nytaya Babbitt, Ron Blassingame, Michael Coppage, Asa Featherstone IV, Angela Franklin, (Naj) Janice Frierson-Edwards, Terence Hammonds, Magnus Juliano, Faith Lewis, LaRenda Nelms, Mark Rozic, Joi Sears, Kimberly Wilfong Sigman, Ryene Smith Curator: Asha the Artist

One of the best things about being a visiting artist is the gift and surprise of meeting people. Thanks to @kenyoncollege for bringing me out to facilitate a silver gelatin workshop with the students. The weather and the grounds were so beautiful AND I got to catch the thesis exhibition and meet the namesake of the MacDonald prize, an endowed prize bestowed onto an exemplary student selected from the thesis exhibition. Thank you to @marcellahackbardt for organizing such a wonderful itinerary and supporting, promoting and prepping the workshop to insure its success. Congratulations to all of the students I met during my prior visit in the fall and to all of the students I was able to meet this time around. Slide 1- @marcellahackbardt , Bill MacDonald, @christine.berrycampbell & me Slide 2- enlarging the negative Slide 3-5- Dark Room Slide 6- @christine.berrycampbell and I in front of @victoriouspurple sculpture. Slide 7 one of four rooms from the thesis exhibition @gundgallery 📸 @itsmeeh_jlo

I had a wonderful time @expochicago this weekend. I bounced around gallery hopping with my friends from @21chotels . Heard Guggenheim fellowship recipient Lorraine O’Grady talk @marianeibrahimgallery . Ran into @bisabutler and @johnnyjbutler_ (Tell the DJ to put that GJ on!) and got to spend time with @itsmeeh_jlo and the homie @pauljillzsak , half of @godjilla_music . I met too many artists to name here but I’m walking away feeling like a part of something much bigger than myself and feeling thankful. This is the kind of weekend I needed.