"It was as if Ferguson wasn't a reality for my coworkers. Granted you're not "supposed" to talk about religion or politics at work, but police aren't "supposed" to murder unarmed Black people, either... Every opportunity to heal the wound was met with extreme violence and disappointment."
Police brutality is still a pretty prevalent problem that is being dealt with. I remember when everything that happened with George Floyd was coming out on the news and watching the police footage. It was heartbreaking hearing him telling the officer that he couldn't breathe and asking him to remove his knee.
"Then, just as I began to regret the post, he went on to explain that I had also made my classmates feel "uncomfortable" during the discussion. I retorted, explaining that I was upset the conversation had quickly turned into a support circle or white guilt. He looked at me and said, "If you want to be in a classroom with other students of color then you should not have enrolled in art history classes." This professor was my art history adviser."
As an adviser I feel that you should be able to steer the students you're advising in the right direction. Get an idea of what classes they are looking to take and help them find it. But as a whole, the fact that this professor was diminishing her and invalidating her is absolutely absurd. It is disgusting that he even suggested that she doesn't take art history courses as if he can't be more inclusive in his lessons.
"During my meeting with Thelma, she told me about the consequences of my actions and generously taught me that my voice was a powerful one...By the end of the meeting, she asked me to think deeply about what I wanted to say, and, more importantly, how I wanted it to be interpreted. It was not just enough to be angry. I had to be strategic."
I feel like I can relate to this, and I think everybody can relate to it to some degree. Sometimes you have to play the game, or play the long game to get what you want in the end. It is good, in my opinion, to be angry and to want to do something about it but I think it is important to figure out the best way to go about dealing with our problem at hand. The things that get said and the actions that are taken can be very powerful and persuasive.
Hazel Scott On 2 Grand Pianos - Black & White are Beautiful
https://youtu.be/1HdnjTCMzpg?si=blemvyIoHu1jckzn
This piece was really interesting to me because of the focus and the hard work that went into the talent of playing piano, especially two at once. I love music, as I'm sure most people do, but this piece in particular is so unique and such an incredible sight to see! Plying one piano is a challenge due to finger placements, so the fact that Hazel Scott is able to play two pianos simultaneously while also being able to look away from the keys is astonishing!
Exhibition: Dual Musical Talents
In this exhibition, the piece would be a wonderful addition along other artists who are able to play (at least) two of the same instrument or (at least) two different instruments at the same time. This exhibition shows the incredible talents, focus, and determination for the musical arts.
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.
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.
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