MCA’s Advertising Design and Sustainable Design classes co-led by Professors, Cat Normoyle and Hannah Park are working in conjunction with the Mayor’s Innovation Delivery Team on a PSA (public service announcement) guerrilla campaign that promotes social sustainability by raising awareness of the concerning problem of gun violence in Memphis communities.
In 2011, 11 juveniles were shot and killed in Memphis. Another 14 were arrested and charged with murder. All 25 saw their lives and their families destroyed by a single bullet.
– Innovate Memphis, Cited from the Mayor’s Innovation Delivery Team
In 2011, two-thirds of homicides in the U.S. involved a gun. Of the 242 in Tennessee, 126 were in the city of Memphis.
– The Commercial Appeal, Gun Access Cited in Homicide Rise in Memphis by Kevin McKenzie
The students focused on youth and family in the community of Frayser, Memphis. They did research, including ride-alongs with MPD patrols and then worked on designs for the campaign. In an effort to avoid focusing on fear tactics, the students attempted to emphasize the alternatives of gun violence in conflict resolution. They then took these ideas out into communities to get feedback on which ideas resonated with community members.
The designs will be presented in the ‘Fight Gun Violence’ exhibition in the Rust Hall Main Gallery from Jan. 7 through Jan. 28.
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