Towards a Curatorial Activism
"Why were they knowledgeable about racially-motivated violence in a country on the other side of the world, yet unaware of what was happening in their own backyard?"
This statement was so interesting to me because there are so many injustices that occur on a daily basis that we may not hear of. We may hear of something going on in other parts of the world but are blind to what is happening within our own country. I think this is true for many countries and I believe that it comes down to the fact that people wish to turn a blind eye, or refuse to believe the problems and crimes within our country are truly as prevalent as they are.
"I'm thinking here of the more recent incident in 2009 when Aboriginal elder Mr Ward was burnt alive in the back of a prison van in Western Australia."
While reading this statement, I got curious because I feel that this is very vague and I wished to know the story as I am a true crime junkie, and the more I read, and then more digging I did, the more appalled I was. They transported this poor elderly man, who was respected in his community in a van for a 4 hour trip. The van had no air, had a faulty CCTV monitor and there was no spare tire or first aid-kit in the van. This man had burns on his arms and his stomach and died of heat stroke because he was enclosed in a metal cage inside the van. It is disgusting that another human being can be treated so poorly.
For anyone interested, there is a link below to an article about this topic
https://socialism.com/fsb-article/the-death-of-mr-ward-a-case-study-in-racist-neglect/
What is Curatorial Activism
"Current statistics demonstrate that the fight for equality in the art world is far from over. Despite decades of postcolonial, feminist, anti-racist, and queer activism and theorizing, the art world continues to exclude Other artists—women, non-white and LGBTQ artists. This discrimination invades every aspect of the art world, from gallery representation, auction-price differentials, and press coverage to inclusion in permanent collections and solo exhibition programs."
As crazy and possibly ignorant as it may sound, I didn't know how excluded everything really was within the art world. I knew there were differences as there unfortunately is within all aspects of life, but I didn't realize how little of an impact there was even with any change that has taken place. It is very disheartening and sad to know that people who put the time, work, and effort in to their pieces aren't getting the recognition that they deserve.
"What we need is more transparency, and more education: If we cannot help others to see the structural/systemic problems, then we can’t even begin to fix them. We need to make statistics more readily available, so that the empirical data cannot be dismissed or denied."
I believe that this is such an important statement to highlight. People need things to be right in front of them sometimes in order to see the whole picture. How can you fix something if you don't even know that it is broken? I know that when there is something being presented to me, I like to have the facts and I like to have the numbers if they are an important component of what is being addressed to me. I'm a person who loves to learn things and I think with hard facts it would be a little easier to get others on board and it would be so hard to dismiss the proof right in front of you.
The Art of Activism Chapter 2
"Our mind is constantly working away. It’s making plans and alternate plans, playing out conversations both real and imagined, and revisiting and analyzing the past. For most of our lives, our mind runs like a personal tabloid television news show in the waiting room of our consciousness: giving reports, speculating on events, gossiping, and hyperbolizing our past and future. Our creativity thrives when it can escape the chatter of our mind, or the chatter of other people."
I think this is such a really important thing to keep in mind because there are so many things in life that we go through on a day to day basis. It can be very difficult to turn our minds off or to even be alone with our thoughts sometimes. I know I can relate to everything that was mentioned here because one thing my brain does not do is stop. When I can get away from everything and be in my own little world I can come up with some really interesting ideas and have a whole idea of what I wish to create. It doesn't happen very often because of everyday life getting in the way, from things going wrong to trying to juggle family life, a social life, school and work, it is nice to be able to turn everything off and just create something. It provides a sense of freedom to me and I love that I am able to be able to create in my own space where the noise and the distractions can go away even just for a little bit. It is hard to get that down time but feels so special when it is finally able to happen.
"Instead of striving to create masterpieces, we need to give ourselves permission to experiment in disasters: to muck about and test the ridiculous, absurd, silly, and, above all, stupid things. Unfundable things. Ultraviolent things. Insane things."
This was something that was very reinforcing for me I suppose. There are times where I come up with insane and rather absurd ideas for an art project. They could be scary or over the top, they could not make sense and they could quite frankly make me think I am in way over my head or not capable of being able to create what I am envisioning. I like that the idea of experimentation here is not to make anything look ideal or perfect but to allow yourself the mistakes and the mess. I am a perfectionist with my art and if I feel something doesn't look right or it isn't lining up how I want it to, I start from scratch. I like that here it is reminding me that my art doesn't need to be perfect but can be something I can expand upon and just go with the flow and see what comes out of the beautiful mess I created.
"There’s some movement toward this quest for an ideal, and it feels important — until you realize hours, days, or weeks have passed and you haven’t actually completed any-thing."
As I stated before, perfection is something I constantly look for in my work. I have gotten so caught up in the small details that I don't realize that I haven't properly taken care of myself all day. I will be so caught up in what I am doing and trying to fix things that people in my life had to remind me to eat and to drink water because I haven't done so all day. When I would come back to what I was working on afterwards I feel like what I had been doing for so many hours was wasted time because it still needs fixing. I always have that little voice telling me to fix it because I know it could be better.
What is Curatorial Activism?
Curatorial Activism is an exhibition that is inclusive to everybody and not focused around western white male dominated art and by "giving voice to those who have been historically silenced or omitted from the ‘master narrative'." That being said the curator would include POC, women, queer artists and non-European artists.
What can we do to improve art and art history?
To improve art and art history we could teach artists who are not white men in classrooms. We could have projects and research assignments based on all these other types of artists and all of these different people with different backgrounds to expand our horizons and potentially shift the idea that art was only successful for white men.
How can exhibitions be activist?
Exhibitions can be activist by showing off different social and power structures and by speaking on stereotypes (especially racist ones), violence, colonial mythologies, land and human rights. It allows a space for things that are difficult to talk about and to face to shine and be a main focus.
What messages can they tell in their theme or inclusion of artwork?
The messages they can tell in their theme or their inclusion of artwork are very head on and direct. They can speak on racism or sexism. They could speak on the hardships of their lives or their ancestors lives. They convey the feelings and the hard truths in their work.
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