Art, Memory & the Work of Healing
The Kehinde Wiley: An Archaeology of Silence Speaker Series brings culture, faith, public safety, and lived experience into one urgent national conversation.
Where art becomes a catalyst for truth and action
Developed in collaboration with Pastor Michael McBride and Sherrie Deans of Live Free USA, this six-part series brought together leading voices in culture, art, sports, faith, and activism.
Through panel conversations, performance, and collective healing practices, the series centered people most affected by state-sanctioned violence and created space to confront grief, honor memory, and imagine a future rooted in dignity and safety.
We create change when we move from silence to story, from isolation to community, and from grief to collective action.
Fathers, leaders, and community in action
Authentic moments from the Live Free community at the de Young Museum—grounded in remembrance, solidarity, and the belief that healing is public safety.
Event photography: Fathers Live Free — Kehinde Wiley by Squint.
Stories that refuse to be silenced
Explore conversations that connect personal loss, collective healing, identity, remembrance, and the movement to end violence.
A Mother’s Love
A Father’s Heart
Sacred Intersectionality
Black August
Art can hold what words cannot.
When An Archaeology of Silence premiered in the United States in 2023, Kehinde Wiley’s monumental paintings and sculptures confronted the violence experienced by Black and brown communities while honoring the humanity of those too often reduced to headlines.
Created in the wake of George Floyd’s death, the work opened a wider public conversation about remembrance, state violence, healing, and the responsibility to build something different. Live Free USA’s speaker series extended that conversation beyond the gallery—connecting culture to organizing and reflection to action.
Help build communities where every life is valued.
Live Free USA equips directly impacted leaders, faith communities, and local organizers to advance community safety, healing, and justice.
