Not a Drill explores our increased exposure to gun violence and the alarming lack of measurable gun reform in the United States. As of August 2023, according to The Gun Violence Archive, there have been 4,046 children and teens killed by gunfire in just 221 days compared to 2,821 victims total in 2014 when the archive was established. It is obvious that the agencies and systems meant to protect us are failing. As an artist and mother of two school-aged children, I feel compelled to respond to these atrocities and lack of action because gun violence devastates all people at personal, community, state, and national levels.

My project is attuned to focus on K-12 shootings, as well as the larger social issue regarding increased gun violence. Using every-day, child centered materials such as paper, ink, felt, blankets, and plastic, paired with art-texts that read like headlines or protest slogans, I open up visceral conversations about fragility of life. In doing so, I arm individuals and communities with resources, solidarity and a voice, rather, than weapons.

Not a Drill includes community involvement with schools devastated by shootings in Uvalde, Texas at Robb Elementary and the 2018 shooting in Santa Fe High School. Since 2022 I have been fostering relationships with Santa Fe Ten Memorial and LivesRobbed to witness and understand the full impact of these massacres and the role of art to help communities process grief, establish connection, and enact change. I will continue to work with these nonprofits and others to research and develop the various bodies of work within this larger project.

Bio

Sarah Sudhoff is a Cuban-American visual artist and educator. Her work interweaves themes of gender, science, and personal experience through photographs — staged and found — as well as through performance, installation, and small-scale sculpture. She completed an MFA in Photography from Parsons School of Design, New York, and a BA in Journalism and Photography from the University of Texas at Austin.

Her work has been exhibited at Blaffer Art Museum, McNay Art Museum, Donggang Photo Museum, Austin Museum of Art, Pioneer Works, Luckman Gallery, Magenta Foundation, Filter Photo, Contemporary Arts Center New Orleans, Galveston Arts Center, and the Colorado Photographic Arts Center.