The Barb Schmidt Fellowship Honors Barb Schmidt and Activist Artist Manuel Oliver

Wednesday, Feb 09, 2022

Image Above: Manuel Oliver speaking with Barb Schmidt Fellows

When the Barb Schmidt Fellowship launched in August of 2018, one of its first visitors/instructors was Manuel Oliver. Artist, activist, and father of Joaquin, Manny is one of the parents who lost a child in the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida on February 14, 2018. The Fellowship was founded out of the activism that emerged from that tragic incident, and it is now in its fourth academic year of preparing high school students to become the movement leaders of the future.

Standing left, center left, and seated: Students in the Barb Schmidt Fellowship.

Standing left, center left, and seated: Students in the Barb Schmidt Fellowship.

It was a tremendous pleasure to welcome the Olivers, Manny and Patricia, back for a special ceremony in the Ritter Art Gallery on FAU’s Boca Raton Campus, on Saturday, January 29, 2022. The pair have carried on Joaquin’s activism since 2018, tirelessly advocating for stricter gun control measures. The event was co-organized by the Fellowship and FAU’s College of Social Work and Criminal Justice , with crucial assistance from the University Galleries.

The setting, an art gallery, was appropriate to the occasion. Robin Rubin, MSW , instructor in the Phyllis & Harvey Sandler School of Social Work, recently attended a charity auction for Ruth and Norman Rales Jewish Family Services, and won the bid for one of Oliver’s activist artworks, a moving tribute to Joaquin and call to action titled “I Wish I Was Here” (2019).

(L-R) Dean Horswell, Barb Schmidt, Dr. Heather Thompson, and Dean Luna

On view in the exhibition Teaching the Object: Selections from the FAU Art Collection, the location was perfect for Rubin to give the painting to the Center for Peace, Justice, and Human Rights, in honor of her friend Barb Schmidt’s passionate and tireless activism for peace. Through stealth and collaboration, this was all a complete surprise to Barb, making the event all the more moving.

Barb Schmidt with the painting, "I Wish I Was Here" by Manuel Oliver (2019)

The ceremony was followed by an inspiring hour of slides and stories of the Olivers’ activist interventions and disruptions, their creativity and ingenuity. Questions from the 2021-22 cohort of fellows demonstrated that imaginations were on fire with possibilities for future actions.

Manuel Oliver presenting to the Barb Schmidt Fellows

The exhibition, which will be on view until March 5, 2022, was curated by Dr. Karen Leader, Associate Professor of Art History and Director of the Barb Schmidt Fellowship. It includes a selection of activist art works, including Oliver’s painting. Once closed, the work with be transferred to the Center for Peace, Justice, and Human Rights to be installed permanently for students, staff, faculty, and visitors to contemplate.

Photography by Gina Fontana, Photographic Services Inc.

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