Belong

Opening Reception: First Friday, June 5
Artist Talk and Discussion TBA

"The existence of the people, causes, and concepts these words signify is vital. We must not allow our culture to be muted, homogenized, or whitewashed. These words belong in our language. That which they signify belongs. We belong. — Gianna Stewart

BELONG is comprised of words deemed unsavory, unnecessary, or ‘woke' by the current administration of the United States government.

In spring of 2025 several organizations including the New York Times documented the rapid redaction of certain words and terms from official government websites. Since then, groups such as PEN America have have attempted to track this erasure by compiling lists of words removed from government publications and censored by institutions attempting to comply with the administration’s directives. Simultaneously arts and educational organizations have been encourage to remove many of these words from their grant applications and programs, and many have complied. This tryptic carefully incorporates Pen America’s list into the letters BELONG, which is also one of the words on the list.

The list is made all the more absurd in the seeming banality of some of the included words and phrases. However, the inclusion of words that identify whole groups of people is terrifying. What this list conveys is both the power of language holds and the importance of naming to prevent erasure. The people, causes, and ideas this growing list represents must not be erased. Here they are presented openly, in public space, and in direct opposition to the attempts to scrub them from public discourse.

About the Artist

Gianna Stewart is a Rochester-area artist with a passion for public art. Her permanent public artworks include Spun at the Pawtucket/ Central Falls Commuter Rail Station, RI; the Esther Howland Bench at Worcester City Hall, MA; and Depth of Decision at the Underwater Museum of Art in the Gulf of Mexico. Seven custom works are in Boston Children’s Hospital’s new Hale Building. Storytell & Sway was the Asian Community Development Corporation’s inaugural Hudson Street Stoop project in Boston’s Chinatown, and Iceberg floated in the Fort Point Channel in Boston. She has also created site-specific temporary works for the Fruitlands Museum in Harvard, MA, 8Nights8Windows in downtown Boston, ReCreation on the Boston Harbor Islands, “The Local” commission on the Rose Kennedy Greenway, and a Bonnaroo skylight at the Nashville International Airport. She received her MFA from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston/ Tufts University. @giannaworks

Public Art at RoCo

RoCo’s public art program enlivens the East Avenue neighborhood with temporary, site-specific public sculptures and special projects. Support provided by The New York State Council on the Arts, Farash Foundation, The County of Monroe, Richard Schwartz, Anne Havens, and Members of RoCo! This installation is presented in partnership with Christ Church and adjacent to the Cooney Family Garden.