on display through Election Day
“Every Vote Counts” is an art installation conceived by A. L. R. Keaton, which features a voting booth that is part of a larger project Keaton undertook in 2016 entitled “Existence Stories,” an interactive, activist project that gathers and amplifies personal narratives about the ways in which our lives are impacted by the political climate of the US.
As Keaton notes, “For many of us — for me specifically, being a non-binary trans person and watching my very identity being pathologized and criminalized by the state — the political climate… is still very volatile. Continuing to exist — and to assert our existence by telling our stories — is an act of resilience and resistance. It’s an act of self-love and an act of love for those who hear (or read, or watch) our stories.”
Visitors are encouraged to enter the voting booth, to read the graffiti on its walls, add their own thoughts, and to cast a ballot for a political candidate, for a cause, for an interest, for hopes and dreams. Contributions from the public are welcomed through the project closing at which time the ballot box will be opened and the contents shared.
This LAVA Humanities program is made possible in part by grants from Mass Humanities and Markham-Nathan Fund for Social Justice.
