By Joanie Harmon for The LA Sentinel
Originally published July 9, 2026
“WE THE PEOPLE,” an exhibition created in partnership between Community Coalition (CoCo) and Sankofa.org, runs through July 19 at LADC Studios in Los Angeles.
In recognition of America’s 250th birthday, the exhibit highlights more than 30 artists from Black, Indigenous, immigrant, LGBTQ+ and AAPI communities, whose works tell the story of the founding of the nation with voices that have been historically left out of the narrative.
Admission to the all-agesappropriate exhibit is free.
Gerri Lawrence, chief operating officer of CoCo, executive producer of the “WE THE PEOPLE,” and a featured artist in the exhibit, says that the U.S. Constitution and the Declaration of Independence provided a framework for the show.
“This country is built off of amazing, beautiful ideals and words, but there are incredible contradictions that must be reckoned with and talked about,” she says.
Gina Belafonte, executive director of Sankofa.org and co-producer of the exhibit, notes that its creators sought to present “a holistic approach to the story. Those of us on the margins [were] extremely present in building this country and making it a space for others to experience joy, and yet our story is often told by people that are not us.
“In the spirit of Sankofa, which is to ‘go back and get it,’ it seemed like we had an opportunity … to look at our past through art; to look at our present through art; and then to have an optimistic, reverent, joyful expression of the future,” says Belafonte.
A photo mosaic by Lawrence that comprises a portrait of Trayvon Martin shares the space with historic images by pioneering Black photographers John Simmons and Kwame Braithewaite. Native American beadwork by Kimberly Robertson bears anti-ICE messages alongside neon signs by Patrick Martinez that read, “Black Owned,” and “Brown Owned,” proclaiming the contradictions of the American Dream.
Dominique Clayton, who curated “WE THE PEOPLE,” says the intergenerational lens of the exhibit draws from “the wisdom of our elders but also takes the innovation of the youth … in the same way that movement[s] … are stronger when we’re all together. Most of the artists in the show … do mixed media work, which also is what our future is about. There’s no one way to create something — it’s the sum of many parts.”
Clayton says that the artists featured in “WE THE PEOPLE” are “happy to be able to show work and have it talked about in this free, safe space of culture and community.
“Most of these artists, especially the more well-known ones, are with fancy galleries [or] usually in a standard exhibition or an art fair, out of context,” she says. “[It’s] important for a lot of artists of color, for their work to be seen and interpreted through this lens and not just in the white cube where people … pick it apart or don’t understand the depth and gravity of it. I hope to see more nonprofits and organizations leaning in on arts and entertainment to help tell those stories and further their causes.”
Artist Terrick Gutierrez, who served on the exhibit’s planning committee, and his wife, Daniela Elizarraraz created “Home Not Deport,” a commentary on the threat of ICE to immigrant populations. He says that it was important to the exhibit’s creators to show it in South L.A.
“A lot of times, our community members have to experience art through institutions … miles outside [the neighborhood],” says Gutierrez. “We deserve to have an art exhibit like this … that folks can walk by, drive to, or catch the bus.”
Included in the exhibit are the results of “The People’s Poll,” which was administered by CoCo earlier this year to 1,600 residents in South L.A., including questions about key issues such as the threat of ICE, sex trafficking, and the impact of the 2028 Olympics.