Ave. 50 Studio's 'Embracing Democracy' Closes this Weekend

's latest exhibition, "Embracing Democracy," was inspired by a question: "where is free speech welcomed?"

Gallery Director Kathy Gallegos asked herself that very question after watching the news coverage of the shooting of Representative Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) and several of her aids and constituents during a meet your congresswoman event in her district.

"I was disturbed by the whole incident," Gallegos said. "These people were shot in the act of communication. I was worried that people's willingness to engage in free speech could be damaged by that."

It can also be dangerous for artists, especially those who want to make a living from their work, to make political statements. Many artists believe they'll alienate portions of their audience if their work becomes too political, Gallegos said, while other fear they'll be pigeonholed as "political artists."

"Embracing Democracy" features the work of artists who have no qualms about expressing their political views.

The artists on display range from the highly political, like Sacramento based artist Pete Bettencourt, whose work will be on display in the studio's annex, as well as those who have little history in making strong political statements with their work, like South Los Angeles' Michael Massenburg.

Gallegos said the relatively low attendance for the opening night of "Embracing Democracy" is proof that political art still has a long way to go in penetrating larger audiences. However, Gallegos said she believes the exhibit was a success and she plans to run two more politically conscious shows throughout the year.

"There's that old cliche that says, 'don't talk about religion or politic,' well, we say 'let's talk about religion or politics and not shoot each other over it,'" Gallegos said.

This is the last weekend that "Embracing Democracy will be open to the public. It can be viewed on Saturday, April 2 and Sunday April 3 from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. at Ave. 50 Studio on 131 N. Ave. 50 in Highland Park.