Allouche Gallery has commissioned 13 Black artists for its powerful “Operation Varsity Blues” exhibition—a curation of work that addresses racial inequality through the lens of the 2019 college admissions scandal.
“As a Harvard graduate, I know firsthand the struggles and challenges African-American students face at the overwhelmingly white institutions they attend,” said historian/author Charles Moore, who organized the exhibit. “This unique experience of existing within elite spaces informed my work on this exhibition and helped me tease out the themes of racial inequality specific to this scandal, which is yet another clear example of white people wielding their influence and power at expense of minority groups.”
The college admissions scandal, dubbed “Operation Varsity Blues,” exposed the structural inequities within the American higher education system and the ways privileged families bribed their children’s way into elite colleges. The defendants in the high-profile case included celebrities like Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin, as well as business executives such as Gamal “Aziz” Abdelaziz, Jane Buckingham, Diane Blake, and Manuel Henriquez. The scandal was explored in a 2021 Netflix film, also titled Operation Varsity Blues.
The exhibit opened earlier this month and will run through July 4 at the Allouche Gallery, 82 Gansevoort S. New York, NY. Those who are not in the area can virtually tour the exhibit here.
Take a look below to see some of the featured work.
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