Wilmington College’s Meriam R. Hare Quaker Heritage Center will host an exhibit of vibrant colorful screen prints and linocuts by New York City-based artist Todd Drake, also known as the “Quaker Pirate.”
The exhibition, “Graffiti as Witness: The Art Activism of a Quaker Pirate,” runs weekdays, Aug. 9 through Dec. 11, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and by special appointment coordinated by QHC Director Tanya Maus. The Quaker Heritage Center is located in the WC’s Boyd Cultural Arts Center, corner of College and Douglas Streets.
Drake’s work addresses issues of environmental crisis, state military violence and the responsibility of individuals to act to reduce and bring an end to environmental, political and social harm, according to Maus. The prints in the exhibition reflect the work that Drake graffitis throughout New York City as both art and political action rooted in Quaker principles and beliefs.
Maus noted that “Drake’s work highlights the interchange between Quaker-led social justice and peace efforts and art — his graffiti asks ordinary people to think about who stewards public spaces and the messaging that we receive in our everyday lives as we navigate sidewalks, roadways and parks. Do we want to be bombarded by advertisements or witness art that inspires us to be better people?”
Drake is an artist and experienced teacher living in Manhattan. There, he and his wife run a Quaker collaborative community called Penington Friends House. Drake has also collaborated with other Quakers in creating “Quaker Canvassing Peace Walks” that allow Quakers to engage successfully with other people across political divides.
Today, Drake continues to print and post his linocuts and silkscreens. His most recent posters speak to how war begets war. Originally from North Carolina, where he earned an MFA in painting, he was also a Rockefeller Fellow at the University of Chapel Hill.
Drake has exhibited his work all over the United States and overseas, including in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Israel and Palestine. Drake is a member of the Brooklyn Monthly Meeting. His work can be followed on Instagram @QuakerPirate.
Drake will visit Wilmington College in person to hold graffiti workshops that are free and open to the public during the 2024 Westheimer Peace Symposium’s “A Festival of Nonviolence.”
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