Part 1 - Curatorial Activism Defined
Both readings, This Is What I Know About Art, by Kimberly Drew and the essay Towards Curatorial Activism by Dr. Maura Reilly underlines the importance and desperate need of diversity and activism when it comes to the art world. Issues like racism and discrimination are nothing new in the art world. Kimberly Drew, the author of This Is What I Know About Art, has faced these issues firsthand. In the reading Drew says, “...the only person of color was likely earning one of the lowest salaries on the curatorial team, if not within the entire organization.” (Drew, 33) This quote pulled from the book shows the experience of pay discrimination Drew witnessed at her workplace. Experiences like this led Drew to become an activist using the artwork she creates. Being in a workplace of discrimination because of race affects the amount the artist is paid or the way they are treated. Dr. Maura Reilly, the author of Curatorial Activism focuses on how an artist's involvement in activism against inequalities. "After even a cursory glance at art world statistics such as these, which are (sadly) almost identical in every mainstream museum throughout the world, 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 inequity in representation often goes undetected." (Reilly, 10) This quote describes the ongoing proof of the inequality in the art world. it is more common then known. Social media also plays a big role when it comes to bringing awareness to issues that have a negative effect on specifically artists careers. Both readings implicate the importance of how curators display artwork and who they specifically choose to be displayed. Authors can be activists to because of their ability to provide information and a different perspective of their own. People are able to gain knowledgeable information that can be used to bring awareness.
Part 2 - Art Example
Qiana Mestrich - "Namesake" series 2013
Lizzy Alejandro - El Diablo es una Mujer/The Devil is a Women (2016)
Qiana Mestrich's artwork displays issues that women of color face. Some of these issues surround or include black, mixed-race identity, motherhood/mothering, women's labor and fashion. Qiana did this by taking photographs of mugshots of women, who have the same name as her and who are predominantly black or Latino, at a close range with her aperture wide open. Her idea was to use the colors of the photographs as representation of bruises caused by violence towards women of color. This collection includes 25 photographs. Her artwork sends a clear message as activism is used to bring awareness to issues surrounding violence and discrimination. The artist is a photo historian, writer and digital marketing professional. She also lives and works in Brooklyn and New York's Hudson Valley. She was born to immigrant parents from Panama and Croatia.
Lizzy Alejandro's artwork, El Diablo es Una Mujer, is a representation of women's empowerment. Lizzy's artwork displays a message of going against roles placed on women. Her artwork is a picture of a women in a mask symbolizing the reclamation of power and identity. The mask is a vigilante mask worn by men in Puerto Rico representing cultural roles assigned to them. Lizzy is a visual artist and curator from the Bronx. Most of her work surround's identity and going against what's "normal".
Works Cited:
Reilly, M. (n.d.). TOWARD a CURATORIAL ACTIVISM. Western Art – It’s a White Male Thing, 1. https://www.maurareilly.com/pdf/essays/CIAFessay.pdf
Drew, Kimberly. This Is What I Know about Art. Penguin Workshop, 2020.
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