The boards do not belong to any one person, business or entity. This art would not exist without black murder.
Zellner-Smith started the project by enlisting the help of her friend and roommate, Emma Shepherd. The pair, alongside other Twin Cities community members, have contributed to the preservation of more than 800 plywood boards and murals created following George Floyd’s murder.
When emergency preservation efforts began, Kenda Zellner-Smith founder of Save the Boards and native of Minneapolis was a recent college graduate with limited experience in art preservation and community organizing.
Collecting murals started out as an act of self-preservation. Driving around the streets and alleys of my community became my way of coping with the violent reality in which I was existing.
From the moment I started collecting, I knew my efforts were not the first of their kind. The boards alone would never account for the level of accountability, reform, and justice Minneapolis community members and other cities alike have desperately cried out for.
With this understanding, I’ve come to recognize several methods of activation, that allow the boards to serve as tools for healing, learning, and reflection, without the restrictions of location.
My plans for the future are to activate boards throughout the Twin Cities at local exhibitions, community events, workshops, and speaking events, promoting dialogue, and reflection surrounding the importance of this art as a means of storytelling, and resistance against state-sanctioned violence.