This month, many of the storefronts on Partition and Main in Saugerties are displaying more than the wares and signs of their businesses; they’re also posting messages of social justice, inclusiveness and environmental preservation. “We Stand for Justice,” “Save our Environment,” “Healthcare is a Human Right,” “Build Bridges Not Walls,” and more than a dozen other exhortations for equality, human rights and action on climate change are inscribed on posters by various artists, in most cases hand-written and embellished with bands of color or a graphic element, such as painted flowers wriggling out of the vase embellished by a heart in “Love is Love” (by artist Dina Kravztov; displayed at Love Bites Cafe). Walking through downtown and taking in the various messages, one feels subliminally the spirit of community—one that is welcoming, tolerant and cares.
The mover and shaker behind the “Communities for Social Justice” project, as it is called, is Nina Schmidbaur, a 30-year-old psychotherapist who grew up and now lives in Saugerties. Her initial motivation came from the painful awareness that her friends of color were considering visiting and possibly settling in the Hudson Valley but were worried about not being welcome. “They are concerned about the politics and not knowing if their rights are valued here,” she said. “Without signage, a person doesn’t know if it’s safe for them to enter a place.” After coming up with the idea of displaying posters in store windows with messages of social justice, she contacted Suzanne Bennett, organizer of the Shout Out Saugerties series of events, who put Schmidbaur in touch with two other young women to assist in the volunteer effort as well as several artists.
The three women came up with 20 slogans for posters, each of which was selected by a particular artist. Ultimately 25 artists participated, with several artists coming up with their own slogans (as well as one business, Hop Vintage, which came up with “Science Over Fiction”). The artists had a week and a half to create their posters. Schmidbaur and her assistants then approached the businesses, giving those 23 retailers and restaurateurs who chose to participate the option of choosing their poster.
One participant, Lighthouse Home Essentials, displays three posters in its capacious storefront window: “People Over Profit,” in white letters over a blue background, by anonymous; “No Justice No Peace,” in red letters over the black outline of a fallen figure, a reference to the chalked outlines of murder victims drawn on the sidewalk, by Tad Richards; and “I Can’t Breathe,” one of the more striking images, in which the phrase is repeated in black and brown typeface 20 times, with letters missing as breath is lost, mimicking the last words of the dying Floyd, also by anonymous. (Schmidbaur said some artists preferred to be anonymous, and her two volunteers also chose not to be identified. “This isn’t about getting credit or selling art. It’s art and social justice perfectly aligned,” she said.)
“It’s a great project, so I wanted to display as many [of the posters] as I can,” said storeowner Shari Weingarten. “Some people came in the store specifically because they saw the posters.” Although Schmidbaur said some of the business owners she contacted declined to participate because of their fear of violence—others said displaying one of the posters “would alienate their customers and they couldn’t afford to lose them in the pandemic,” according to Schmidbaur—Weingarten said she hadn’t had any negative responses.
Indeed, Schmidbaur said the employees of some of the participating businesses “said they were so grateful that the owner supported human rights.” The signs give “citizens an opportunity to support businesses who champion safety and equality” and that younger consumers in particular “like to spend their money intentionally—in stores that value human rights and equitable labor practices.”
Hugh Morris’s sign, “White Silence Is Violence,” displayed in the window off the courtyard at Bosco’s Mercantile, employs a powerful visual: a figure in white against a blue background with two red hands extended over the body, a stark, chilling image reminiscent of the striking and witty posters produced by dissonant artists in communist Poland, who found the only way they could convey their message was through visual imagery that was by turns absurdist, playful and subversive. Showing a white figure with hands drenched in blood makes a powerful statement about white complicity—one which many white liberals even might object to if said in so many words.
Schmidbaur said it was difficult to place one message in particular, “Trans People Belong,” by anonymous. Ultimately Headspace Hair Salon enthusiastically adopted the poster, whose words slant over a pink and blue impressionistic background. Schmidbaur said the message fits the policy of pricing at Headspace, which isn’t gender specific. “They honor people’s identify as non-binary,” she said.
Inquiring Minds, long known for its socially conscious signage, displays the banner-size “Abolish ICE, No Human is Illegal” by Susan Murphy. The bookstore, along with Emerge art gallery and a couple of other businesses, also is handing out specially designed BLM stickers to any shopper who donates $10 or more to one of 16 civil rights, social equity, or environmental protection nonprofits. The sticker can be pasted on one’s smart phone or other social media device. (The businesses have a list of the organizations, which include Legal Services of New York, Saugerties Food Pantry, and Esopus Creek Conservancy; they’re also listed at www.shoutoutsaugerties.org/take-action.)
The signs will be up through the month of November. Schmidbaur says she plans to do a similar project in the future, which would expand on the number of participating businesses and artists. “I’m hoping to inspire individual artists and organizations to make them aware of their responsibility in the art world of promoting social justice,” she said. Asked if any of her friends of color had visited the town since the signs had been installed, she answered in the affirmative. “They felt an ease in their body, knowing which stores they could go into where their rights would be valued.”
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