Painting depicting Tamir Rice shooting withdrawn over outcry

PITTSBURGH (AP) — A painting depicting the fatal shooting of Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old black Cleveland, Ohio, boy shot by police in 2014, has been withdrawn from a Pittsburgh arts festival after a social media outcry the white artist was exploiting black pain.

The Post-Gazette reports artist Tom Megalis’ painting “Within 2 Seconds, the Shooting of Tamir Rice” was among 54 works accepted into this year’s Three Rivers Arts Festival, which runs June 2-11.

Before he delivered the work to the festival he posted an image of it on Facebook. That’s when the intense reactions started pouring in.

Megalis, who lives in Cleveland, says he was shocked by the response. He says his intention was to document his outrage.

The arts festival’s website describes many of the works in the juried show as dealing with race, gender and social concerns.