Wanted Composite Sketch Session

Wanted is a community-based art project that address the criminalization of youth in America. It is presented inside a gallery as well as on the streets of Harlem, New York. It is a series of fake police wanted posters that feature a “police sketch” of a young adult, a description of them and a statement of an activity that they are supposedly wanted for. The activities listed are actions that are legal for which the police routinely harass Black an Latino youth. They activities (furtive movement, appearing to be lookout, fitting the description…) are drawn from New York Police Department reports of their justification for unconstitutional Stop and Frisk stops. The sketches of the youth on the posters were drawn by a former police sketch artist, based upon descriptions from adults who only briefly saw the young person they described. This video is documentation of the sketch session.