The intersection between art and politics manifested itself beautifully on Tuesday evening at The Living Gallery, a small but lively venue in Brooklyn. Carla Cubit’s “Black Lives Matter” pop-up show featured live jazz music alongside her politically-motivated artwork, creating a thoughtful and forward-looking show.

The event filled up quickly with a young and talkative crowd who had been waiting in a line down the block in 30-degree weather. They circled the gallery, admiring Cubit’s mixed media pieces which incorporated recycled metro cards, photography, maps of New York City and even Mardi Gras necklaces. Many pieces in this particular collection included the words “Occupy Art,” a nod to the 2011 protest movement “Occupy Wall Street” which brought attention to the national — and international — movement against socio-economic inequality following the 2008 recession. Perhaps the most poignant piece in the collection was a poster featuring the photographs of over 30 black Americans killed by police. Viewers hesitated before this especially tragic display of racial injustice.

“I love art in whatever medium it may be: music, theatre, dance, et cetera,” Cubit said of her multimedia approach to her work.

This philosophy certainly came across in Tuesday’s show, which combined her visual pieces with a saxophone player and audience interaction in a collaborative effort to raise awareness about racial inequality in the United States and to urge audience members to participate, even if that meant writing a single sentence on the posters supplied.

Despite its heavy subject matter the show’s atmosphere was hopeful and optimistic. The entire left wall of the gallery was covered in burlap posters on which attendees were encouraged to write their own messages. Conversations materialized as people added on to previous comments. After an hour, all three posters were covered in quotes from Martin Luther King, calls to action and the well-known mantra “Black Lives Matter.” Especially memorable messages included, “Black Lives Matter: the new civil rights movement for a 400-year-old problem,” “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter” and “We are people. We have families. We exist.”

About 30 minutes after opening, Cubit’s notion of “Occupying Art” became reality. Although some argue that art is futile when it comes to asserting political beliefs and calling individuals to action, in a time of great social and political division, Cubit demonstrates the opposite. Appreciating art can be a way to not only highlight injustice and document protest, but also to soothe fears about an uncertain future. This was certainly the case at The Living Gallery, where hundreds of people — young and old — came together to recognize a movement that insists no minority deserves discrimination.

Email Natalie Breuer at [email protected].