TOWARD A CURATORIAL ACTIVISM Dr. Maura Reilly
"It is evident that sexism and racism have become so insidiously woven into the institutional fabric, language, and logic of the mainstream art world that the inequities in representation often go undetected."
"The downside of the latter technique, however, is that it can result in assimilation, which comes at the cost of cultural heritage, and can obscure the real sociohistorical differences about the privileged classes."
For both women and people of color to become "naturally" in the mainstream art world, they are essentially forced into watering down their art to mimic those who are already successful and recognized (white men). They cannot be successful being themselves; however, they are forced to fit into a narrative.
"Should we aim to abolish the canons altogether, arguing that all cultural artifacts have significance – in other words, should our goal be a totalizing critique of canonicity itself?"
The answer to this question is yes; the only way everyone can appreciate art from all cultures is to throw away everything that makes everyone argue and focus on the art. Although history might be disgusting and hurtful, we all say before appreciating it, which stops us from stepping into the world. Everyone should be anonymous and see how many galleries have people of color and women.
WHAT IS CURATORIAL ACTIVISM?
" It is a practice that commits itself to counter-hegemonic initiatives that give voice to those who have been historically silenced or omitted altogether—and, as such, focuses almost exclusively on work produced by women, artists of color, non-Euro-Americans, and/or queer artists."
She singlehandedly found the answer to her question in her previous work. What can we do to solve the issue of white men taking over art while people of color and women are excluded? She created her own galleries that allow everyone to include their art without sacrificing their heritage, culture, or identity. She also includes like-minded people who agree that the art world contains endless injustices.
If a curator simply does not bother with Other artists, is it out of habit, misogyny, racism, homophobia—or is it just plain laziness? Are they only choosing works they’ve seen in NYC galleries or collector’s homes instead of traveling to non-western contexts in search of more unfamiliar works/artists?
People are just used to excluding people; this is not something people jump out of their seats to look into, and that is the problem. No prominent artists are bringing massive attention to the grossly one-sided statistics that the world is oblivious to. More action must be taken by known artists, and they must be called out for allowing it.
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Art is Activism Chapter 2
Curatorial Activism is when a curator collects an exhibition of art that stands against the norm or the status quo and exposes the audience to an idea that challenges what they consider reality or art.
"Creativity does not appear fully formed as a gift from the gods, nor does it result from inborn talent or luck; it’s a process of making new combinations from old stu. In. order to create new combinations, we need to seek inspiration and borrow various elements from diverse sources."
"For our creativity to progress, we must need to allow ourselves the freedom to make fools of ourselves. We are often our own worst enemies when it comes to being creative. As artists and activists, we frequently self-censor our ideas because they aren’t clever or creative enough."
Curating and creating art should not be limited to what you think will fit in with other popular art media or exhibitions. Art should be collected and tested to see what you have created on paper, and then it should be decided whether it will enter your actual exhibit. Creativity is not linear and should be executed how you think it is so as not to pass up on what may be successful for your crowd.
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"Among activists and artists, some will say, “It’s all about the process.” But it’s just as easy to fetishize the process as it is to fetishize the product. There are actual outcomes we’re striving for—ultimately, we want to change the world. This means we need to step on the curb and take action."
Every step should be given equal time so that nothing is missed and so that too much effort is not put into one specific step or item in the process. You should draw up your vision and give the most effort in each step to have an equal product that will be apparent when shown to your audience. Artists should be making mistakes and testing things they have never done before but had an idea on how execute it. If you have an idea, just do it and don't stop yourself from doing something great even if it may have flaws you can always fine tune and improve as you go.
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