1-800 Happy Birthday
A Large-Scale Exhibition Honoring Black and Brown Lives Killed by Police
Presented by WORTHLESSSTUDIOS
Created by Artist Mohammad Gorjestani and Even/Odd
Curated by Klaudia Ofwona Draber
On view September 23, 2022 – January 16, 2023
The 1-800 Happy Birthday exhibition honors the lives and legacies of Black and Brown people killed by police. It serves as a healing modality and a form of emotional activism—an animation of self and social awareness, empathy, and compassion through creative community engagement. The interactive exhibition connects us to each celebrant, explores their communities, and blesses the spaces these individuals occupied. The artist, Mohammad Gorjestani, works with families and communities to demonstrate that the Black and Brown people killed are much more than the day they showed up in a headline.
1-800 Happy Birthday is filled with the voices these celebrants heard from those who loved them and wished them Happy Birthday for as long as they were here. Voices carry joy, sorrow, memory, celebration. Listening closely, we learn about the power of the voices and communities that shape us. The exhibition space, transformed into a cityscape, embraces multiple aesthetics of Black and Brown life in America in order to represent the communities of the celebrants, transport visitors to their surroundings, and embody their memories. Celebrating birthdays of loved ones lost is a part of the grieving process for those who remain in our hearts throughout our lifetimes.
ABOUT THE EXHIBITION
Twelve upcycled New York City pay phones are arranged on a lawn. A collective monument with a large mural is designed for visitors to contribute to the growth of the show by leaving flowers, balloons or birthday cards, available for purchase at the Newsstand. Towards the back, past a translucent building facade with a Brooklyn brownstone stoop, is a living room. Visuals and ephemera generously loaned by the celebrants’ families allow us to glimpse the personal milestones, interests, and personalities of those we honor. The exhibition invites visitors to learn about the celebrants’ lives and to leave voicemails of their own. 1-800 Happy Birthday radically imagines an alternative world where streets are safe for Black and Brown people to just be.
ABOUT 1-800 HAPPY BIRTHDAY
1-800 Happy Birthday was originally created in 2020 by Even/Odd founder, filmmaker, and artist Mohammad Gorjestani as an ongoing voicemail project to honor Black and Brown victims of police killings and systemic racism. The project exists online at 1800HappyBirthday.com and allows loved ones and the public to leave and listen to voicemails left on the birthdays of ‘celebrants’ - those unjustly killed. Gorjestani teamed up with WORTHLESSSTUDIOS’ Founder and Artistic Director Neil Hamamoto and Curator Klaudia Ofwona Draber, along with family members of the twelve celebrants, to bring the digital project into the physical realm in a community-accessible, large-scale exhibition. The show utilizes audio and video components, a large mural created by Art1, and personal ephemera to tell their stories.
PLAYLIST
The 1-800 Happy Birthday playlist has been curated by the celebrants’ families with songs that remind them of their loved ones.
SUPPORTED BY
This project is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
RESOURCES
View Resource Library.
Our teams would also like to thank our Exhibition Advisory Board members for their continued guidance and support:
Sequette Clark - Stephon Clark’s Mother
Dr. Nicole R. Fleetwood - Curator, Professor + Writer
Rev. Wanda Johnson - Oscar Grant’s Mother + CEO of the Oscar Grant Foundation
Ashley Monterrosa - Sean Monterrosa’s Sister
Michelle Monterrosa - Sean Monterrosa’s Sister
Claudia Rankine - Poet, Playwright + Professor
Tiana Webb Evans - Founder ESP Group + Yard Concept
Keith White, Esq. - Attorney
