Art
CBC's Uncensored looks at why art galleries need to better showcase Black, POC artists – CBC.ca
This summer, the Winnipeg Art Gallery published a letter written by Winnipeg-based Nigerian artist Chukwudubem Ukaigwe in response to the injustice and police brutality Black and Indigenous communities experienced.
Though we know this targeted violence persists on a systemic level, I found it interesting that the WAG would publish a letter addressing this type of violence — but would not take this as an opportunity to publicly acknowledge their shortcomings to promote and support Black artists and address the anti-Blackness within their organization’s landscape.
When confronted last year about the poetic demonstration at the gallery lead by Black artists in the community, a WAG official said he totally agreed with Ukaigwe’s callout, going on to say he believes there is room for more representation of Black artists, and is open to learning more on what the students want to see.
If we can say the WAG is “open to learning,” they had nearly over a century to do so (since the founding in 1912).
What seems obvious for people frustrated with the lack of diversity within the walls of different art galleries is the general lack of consideration and implementation for showcasing Black art.
Black artists have been subjected to this anti-Black racism in the cultural sector as an afterthought — or not even thought about at all, in major curatorial decisions.
When you’re one of Canada’s most prestigious arts institutions and remark that you’re “open to learn” and “there’s room for more representation,” it conveys that Black artists were never in the institutional plans from the beginning. Only when people publicly call out these institutions do they respond.
It begs some deeper questions. Where would we be without the call to action we saw this summer? Would there have ever been this amount of attention in a summer that wasn’t drowning in “white guilt?” And what will it take to restructure the Canadian art world that excludes our artists and histories?
In this week’s episode of Uncensored, titled White Walls, we respond to the Eurocentrism of the Winnipeg and Canadian art world.
Information Radio – MB13:21Uncensored with Alexa Joy Episode 5
Sally Frater, the current curator of contemporary art at the Art Gallery of Guelph, and Winnipeg’s own Allison Yearwood, executive director of the Plug-In Institute of Contemporary Art, expanded on this dialogue, calling attention to the performative attempts galleries display to increase inclusion and representation.
“We need staff members who represent the underrepresented communities. We need Black voices curating Black artists, versus other people borrowing pieces of us again and again,” Yearwood says.
Both Yearwood and Frater stress the importance of this responsibility to involve Black curators and arts administrations within the artistic infrastructure.
“There needs to be a commitment in supporting Black artists,” Frater said. “We need to be a part of the infrastructure and there needs to be a commitment on the part of non-Black curators as well, to be familiar with the practice of Black artists.”
It’s not just the Winnipeg Art Gallery we’re talking about. There’s a deep-rooted problem amongst numerous arts collectives and galleries throughout the city.
This summer, Ace Art Inc. acknowledged their lack of accountability, in prioritizing support and space for Black artists and creatives alike. Most arts collectives and organizations in the city are overwhelmingly white, contributing to the Eurocentric culture of the arts scene.
Don’t believe me? Just go on the arts organizations’ staff lists. They speak for themselves.
Personally, after working with more than 10 arts organizations, consulting and hosting artists events, running a film festival and performing in Winnipeg, it’s safe to say we need more than a statement saying there is “room for representation.”
The next time you’re at a Winnipeg gallery and see nothing but white on the walls, maybe ask yourself, is this what you want to see?
If not, help make it better.
Uncensored — a show airing on CBC’s Information Radio, Thursdays at 7:35 a.m. CT — explores the realities facing Black communities in Canada, including Manitoba.
For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians — from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community — check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of. You can read more stories here.
This column is part of CBC’s Opinion section. For more information about this section, please read this editor’s blog and our FAQ.
Art
Art and Ephemera Once Owned by Pioneering Artist Mary Beth Edelson Discarded on the Street in SoHo – artnet News
This afternoon in Manhattan’s SoHo neighborhood, people walking along Mercer Street were surprised to find a trove of materials that once belonged to the late feminist artist Mary Beth Edelson, all free for the taking.
Outside of Edelson’s old studio at 110 Mercer Street, drawings, prints, and cut-out figures were sitting in cardboard boxes alongside posters from her exhibitions, monographs, and other ephemera. One box included cards that the artist’s children had given her for birthdays and mother’s days. Passersby competed with trash collectors who were loading the items into bags and throwing them into a U-Haul.
“It’s her last show,” joked her son, Nick Edelson, who had arranged for the junk guys to come and pick up what was on the street. He has been living in her former studio since the artist died in 2021 at the age of 88.
Naturally, neighbors speculated that he was clearing out his mother’s belongings in order to sell her old loft. “As you can see, we’re just clearing the basement” is all he would say.
Some in the crowd criticized the disposal of the material. Alessandra Pohlmann, an artist who works next door at the Judd Foundation, pulled out a drawing from the scraps that she plans to frame. “It’s deeply disrespectful,” she said. “This should not be happening.” A colleague from the foundation who was rifling through a nearby pile said, “We have to save them. If I had more space, I’d take more.”
Edelson’s estate, which is controlled by her son and represented by New York’s David Lewis Gallery, holds a significant portion of her artwork. “I’m shocked and surprised by the sudden discovery,” Lewis said over the phone. “The gallery has, of course, taken great care to preserve and champion Mary Beth’s legacy for nearly a decade now. We immediately sent a team up there to try to locate the work, but it was gone.”
Sources close to the family said that other artwork remains in storage. Museums such as the Guggenheim, Tate Modern, the Museum of Modern Art, the Brooklyn Museum, and the Whitney currently hold her work in their private collections. New York University’s Fales Library has her papers.
Edelson rose to prominence in the 1970s as one of the early voices in the feminist art movement. She is most known for her collaged works, which reimagine famed tableaux to narrate women’s history. For instance, her piece Some Living American Women Artists (1972) appropriates Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper (1494–98) to include the faces of Faith Ringgold, Agnes Martin, Yoko Ono, and Alice Neel, and others as the apostles; Georgia O’Keeffe’s face covers that of Jesus.
In all, it took about 45 minutes for the pioneering artist’s material to be removed by the trash collectors and those lucky enough to hear about what was happening.
Dealer Jordan Barse, who runs Theta Gallery, biked by and took a poster from Edelson’s 1977 show at A.I.R. gallery, “Memorials to the 9,000,000 Women Burned as Witches in the Christian Era.” Artist Keely Angel picked up handwritten notes, and said, “They smell like mouse poop. I’m glad someone got these before they did,” gesturing to the men pushing papers into trash bags.
A neighbor told one person who picked up some cut-out pieces, “Those could be worth a fortune. Don’t put it on eBay! Look into her work, and you’ll be into it.”
Follow Artnet News on Facebook:
Want to stay ahead of the art world? Subscribe to our newsletter to get the breaking news, eye-opening interviews, and incisive critical takes that drive the conversation forward.
Art
Biggest Indigenous art collection – CTV News Barrie
[unable to retrieve full-text content]
Biggest Indigenous art collection CTV News Barrie
Source link
Art
Why Are Art Resale Prices Plummeting? – artnet News
Welcome to the Art Angle, a podcast from Artnet News that delves into the places where the art world meets the real world, bringing each week’s biggest story down to earth. Join us every week for an in-depth look at what matters most in museums, the art market, and much more, with input from our own writers and editors, as well as artists, curators, and other top experts in the field.
The art press is filled with headlines about trophy works trading for huge sums: $195 million for an Andy Warhol, $110 million for a Jean-Michel Basquiat, $91 million for a Jeff Koons. In the popular imagination, pricy art just keeps climbing in value—up, up, and up. The truth is more complicated, as those in the industry know. Tastes change, and demand shifts. The reputations of artists rise and fall, as do their prices. Reselling art for profit is often quite difficult—it’s the exception rather than the norm. This is “the art market’s dirty secret,” Artnet senior reporter Katya Kazakina wrote last month in her weekly Art Detective column.
In her recent columns, Katya has been reporting on that very thorny topic, which has grown even thornier amid what appears to be a severe market correction. As one collector told her: “There’s a bit of a carnage in the market at the moment. Many things are not selling at all or selling for a fraction of what they used to.”
For instance, a painting by Dan Colen that was purchased fresh from a gallery a decade ago for probably around $450,000 went for only about $15,000 at auction. And Colen is not the only once-hot figure floundering. As Katya wrote: “Right now, you can often find a painting, a drawing, or a sculpture at auction for a fraction of what it would cost at a gallery. Still, art dealers keep asking—and buyers keep paying—steep prices for new works.” In the parlance of the art world, primary prices are outstripping secondary ones.
Why is this happening? And why do seemingly sophisticated collectors continue to pay immense sums for art from galleries, knowing full well that they may never recoup their investment? This week, Katya joins Artnet Pro editor Andrew Russeth on the podcast to make sense of these questions—and to cover a whole lot more.
Follow Artnet News on Facebook:
Want to stay ahead of the art world? Subscribe to our newsletter to get the breaking news, eye-opening interviews, and incisive critical takes that drive the conversation forward.
-
Media8 hours ago
DJT Stock Rises. Trump Media CEO Alleges Potential Market Manipulation. – Barron's
-
Media10 hours ago
Trump Media alerts Nasdaq to potential market manipulation from 'naked' short selling of DJT stock – CNBC
-
Investment9 hours ago
Private equity gears up for potential National Football League investments – Financial Times
-
Health23 hours ago
Type 2 diabetes is not one-size-fits-all: Subtypes affect complications and treatment options – The Conversation
-
Media22 hours ago
DJT Stock Jumps. The Truth Social Owner Is Showing Stockholders How to Block Short Sellers. – Barron's
-
Business22 hours ago
Tofino, Pemberton among communities opting in to B.C.'s new short-term rental restrictions – Vancouver Sun
-
Business21 hours ago
A sunken boat dream has left a bad taste in this Tim Hortons customer's mouth – CBC.ca
-
Sports23 hours ago
Start time set for Game 1 in Maple Leafs-Bruins playoff series – Toronto Sun