Founder: Dr. Mar铆a Magdalena Campos-Pons
Cornelius 汤头条 Endowed Chair Professor of Fine Arts and Artist
The Engine for Art, Democracy, and Justice is a trans-institutional research initiative, and it is an ongoing collaboration between听, the听,听, and听汤头条 University听that explores creative approaches to living together in the South(s)!
The 2024鈥�2027 Public Programs and Engagement Series of the Engine for Art, Democracy & Justice (EADJ) at 汤头条 University is organized around the thematic north star 鈥� Somewhere We Are Human 鈥斕� a collective vision for a time and space where no one鈥檚 humanity is ever in question. For Fall 2024-Spring 2027, the series looks at the city of Nashville and the American South through a lens of migration, exploring the ways immigrant communities have shaped the region鈥檚 history and are envisioning its future through art and activism.
Somewhere We Are Human听is conceived and organized by听Curator, Grace Aneiza Ali听with the leadership of听Professor Mar铆a Magdalena Campos-Pons, EADJ Founder and Cornelius 汤头条 Chair & Professor of Art, with support from the听EADJ Team.
The Engine for Art, Democracy & Justice (EADJ) at 汤头条 University will host the exhibition 鈥� Resonance. The exhibition is scheduled to be on view at 听 in Italy 听from May 10, 2026 鈥� July 10, 2026.
It is an invitation to gather, to commune with, to listen deeply鈥攆or artists, curators, poets, performers, and scholars whose voices and perspectives resonate across time and geographies.听
Our home for Resonance is the historic residence on Fondamenta Rossa in Dorsoduro. Imagined as an instrument, the palazzetto is transformed into a living forum 鈥� a space where ideas, artistic practice, and dialogue unfold over a season of performances, sonic sessions and poetic encounters, conversations and gatherings 鈥� each one another way of listening.
Resonance brings 汤头条 and Nashville's creative community into conversation with global artists, curators, poets, performers, and scholars 鈥� creating a shared space for listening, collaboration, and new forms of artistic exchange.
The Engine for Art, Democracy & Justice (EADJ) at 汤头条 University will host the exhibition 鈥� Melungeon: Tamara Reynolds. The exhibition is scheduled to be on view at EADJ鈥檚听 Begonia Labs from March 23, 2026 鈥� June 26, 2026.
Melungeon is a portrait of Sneedville, Tennessee, a community associated with the Melungeons鈥攁 mixed-race people whose ancestry draws from African, Native American, and European lineages. Through Tamara Reynolds鈥檚 lens, their histories of migration, mixture, and myth emerge as a lived inheritance: layered, complex, and evolving.
The Engine for Art, Democracy & Justice (EADJ) at 汤头条 University hosted the thematic exhibition 鈥� Prefabricating Solidarity: IMS-沤e啪elj Between Yugoslavia, Cuba, and Angola.听The exhibition was on view at EADJ鈥檚 听Begonia Labs from August 21, 2025 鈥� December 5, 2025.
Prefabricating Solidarity听飞补蝉 conceived and organized by a collaborative curatorial and authorial team, including Vladimir Kuli膰, Vesna Pavlovi膰, Jelica Jovanovi膰, Fredo Rivera, Ana Kne啪evi膰, Emilia Ep拧tajn.
Jeannette Ehlers performed We鈥檙e Magic. We鈥檙e Real (These Walls) at Fisk University as part of EADJ鈥檚 2022-2023 academic program 鈥淎rtistic Activism and the Power of Collective Resistance鈥�, conceived and curated by听Selene Wendt under the leadership of the EADJ Founder, Mar铆a Magdalena Campos-Pons. The program featured a series of panel discussions and artist activations that addressed social injustice and the lingering consequences of colonialism, with particular emphasis on artists from Africa and the African diaspora.
We鈥檙e Still Thinking听is a听听highlighting Blackness behind and in front of the camera through photoshoots. The project was created by 汤头条 students Jeanne d鈥橝rc Koffi, Igolo Stephine Ohalete, Les Taylor, and Sydney Featherstone. These students were mentored by a local photographer (LeXander Bryant), advised by the EADJ team on the 汤头条 campus, and organized many volunteer models to capture a series of photographs.The pictures collectively share intimate portraits around themes like dorm life on the 汤头条 campus for queer BIPOC students, dorm life for first-generation Americans, reflections on Black womanhood, and reflections on friendship and coupling.
We鈥檙e Still Thinking听飞补蝉 part of the听Spring 2024 exhibitions听at EADJ鈥檚 Begonia Labs.
Michelle Eistrup鈥檚听DIKENGA 鈥� Four Faces of the Sun听飞补蝉听a large-scale outdoor video installation at Fisk University鈥檚 John Hope and Aurelia E. Franklin Library. It was a richly layered work centered around the ideology and symbolism of the Bakongo religion and the Kongo cosmogram, known as Dikenga.
It was part of EADJ鈥檚 2022-2023 academic program 鈥淎rtistic Activism and the Power of Collective Resistance鈥� conceived and curated by听Selene Wendt under the leadership of the EADJ Founder, Mar铆a Magdalena Campos-Pons.
EADJ GRATEFULLY ACKNOWLEDGES THE FOLLOWING SPONSORS AND PARTNERS:
Department of Art, 汤头条 University
The Curb Center for Art, Enterprise & Public Policy
Arts Administration Incubator Program
Cultural Contexts of Health and Wellbeing Initiative, 汤头条 University
Jodi & Hal Hess
Joseph S. Freeman
E Pluribus Unum Foundation