Art has a way of influencing change.

“Artists have always been at the forefront of being thoughtful and creative on how we bring about change,” said JC Futrell, director of education at RedLine Contemporary Art Center, a nonprofit located in Denver’s Five Points neighborhood.

To provide people with an access point to further educate themselves on the Black Lives Matter movement, and to celebrate the work that’s being done toward social change, RedLine partnered with a new, local organization called the Anti-Racist Club to implement a community art display in front of Denver’s City and County Building.

The Bonfils-Stanton Foundation, an organization that “provides grants and fellowships to advance the arts and inspire creative leadership in Denver,” states its website, was also involved with the event.

The art installation went up on June 15. The event included the artwork display, a few speeches and poetry readings. As of June 14 — which was when RedLine provided space to any community artist who wanted to create artwork for the display — about 100 pieces of original art were submitted, and the art came from across Colorado and even a couple of other states, Futrell said.

June 15, a Monday, was the chosen day for the art installation to go up so that Denver’s City Council could see the community’s input on the city’s discussions surrounding the future of policing and safety in Denver, Futrell said.

The city had given its permission for the art installation, and it will remain in its location in front of the City and County Building, 1437 Bannock St., for an indefinite period of time. It is Futrell’s hope that people not only take the opportunity to view the art, but also build on it with their own submissions.

Co-organized by Katie Leonard, Daria Eisner and Torrence Brown-Smith, the Denver-based Anti-Racist Club got its start in early June. As of the June 15 event, the club had about 2,000 registered members, Leonard said.

Its mission, Leonard said, is “to keep systemic racism at the forefront of conversation through education and civic engagement.”

“There are a lot of conversations about policy (and) we’re on the heels of a lot of momentum,” Leonard said. “We’re all collectively feeling something. Art cuts right to the chase. It moves people and can reach them in a way that words sometimes can’t.”