A new exhibit that will open on Nov. 14 at Troy University’s Rosa Parks Museum will examine how religion in the United States has played, and continues to play, a major role in Civil Rights and Social Justice movement, both as a positive and negative.
“A Still, Small Voice,” an exhibit by artist V.L. Cox, will open with an artist meet-and-greet and reception at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 14 in the Rosa Parks Museum’s exhibition hall. The event is free and open to the public.
Cox took the title of the exhibit from 1 Kings 19:11-13 in The Bible that references the whispered voice of God during a difficult moral choice. She was further influenced by singer, songwriter and musician Nina Simone who once asked, “How can you be an artist and not reflect the times?”
The pieces included in “A Still, Small Voice” reflect the dichotomy of how religion, both historically and contemporarily, is used to defend systems of belief. One aspect of the exhibition depicts how the religious tenets of faith, love, and unity compelled leaders like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and John Lewis and sustained the masses of civil rights/social justice protestors, while the other side of white supremacists, Christian nationalists, and the Ku Klux Klan often uses religion to justify their hate, xenophobia, and deemed superiority.
“I have traveled the country for almost 10 years now with my artwork and have had the rare opportunity and privilege to speak to thousands of individuals, face to face, that vote differently than I do, believe differently than I do and pray differently than I do,” Cox said. “I have learned that the Arts has the ability to cross religious and political boundaries with ease, sparking the difficult conversations that still need to be had. And after a great deal of soul searching and numerous different project compositions, I know this incredible installation will do the same.”
Cox had the opportunity to salvage materials from a 110-year-old wooden church. Using those materials, she will reconstruct a smaller church with the original stained-glass windows repainted on the opposite side with names of ostracized groups targeted by modern day Christian Nationalism.
“Individuals will be able to walk inside the structure, sit down on a lone wooden pew and be surround by beauty, history and the names of the unjustly rejected vulnerable groups of our society hand-painted on beautiful stained-glass windows in a quiet, peaceful setting,” Cox said.
The main church structure will be surrounded by paintings and sculptures intended to enhance the conversation.
Cox was born in 1962 in Shreveport, Louisiana and raised in Arkansas. She acquired a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Henderson State University in 1991.
Cox is a professional artist of 30 years whose work has been highly active in projects that involve Human Rights and Equality. In 2015, she launched her National ‘End Hate’ project, an anti-discrimination series based on segregation era doors in response to HB1228, a dangerous Religious Freedom Bill in Arkansas. This powerful series employs authentic and found objects that create a visceral presentation commenting on raw emotions and relevant human rights issues that continue to be important topics in the 21st century. The doors were placed twice on the steps of the Arkansas State Capitol then twice at the base of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. Images of the door installation went viral and were seen on Yahoo News, USA Today, in numerous newspapers across the country and as far away as India and South Korea.
In 2020, Cox was one of 20 artists in the nation to be featured in “Ministry of Truth: 1984/2020,” a New York City billboard project which made the New York Times “Most Important Moments in Art in 2020” list.
Her work has opened at prominent locations such as The LGBT Center in New York, NY, The Virginia Longwood Center for the Visual Arts Museum in collaboration with the Moton Museum where the Vice-Presidential debates were held, the Rosa Parks Museum in Montgomery, Alabama coinciding with the Equal Justice Initiative, National Memorial for Peace and Justice opening, the Virginia Holocaust Museum in Richmond, Virginia and the Delta Cultural Center in Helena, Arkansas to commemorate the 100 Year Anniversary of the Elaine Massacre. In 2023, Cox was awarded a Distinguished Alumni Award from Henderson State University and, in 2024, was one of 120 artists selected nationwide for the exhibition ‘Into Action 2024’ sponsored by Taskforce, promoting change and the power of voting during the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
Cox currently lives in the Artists District in Peekskill, New York.
Gallery exhibits at the Rosa Parks Museum are available for free viewing during regular business hours. For additional information, contact the Rosa Parks Museum at 334-241-8615.
