Midterm proposal

 Towards a Curatorial Activism | Dr. Maura Reilly 

“In the US, the words “aboriginal art” can be substituted with “Black art”, “Latino art”, “Middle Eastern art” to much the same effect, calling attention to the fact these particularised groupings are projections made by whites.”

“To address this embarrassingly obviously “knowledge gap”, I began organizing an exhibition titled Blood on the Palm, which looks at the history of violence on Palm Island, as a metaphor for race relations in Australia.”

This reading made me realize that these art terms, such as aboriginal art, black art, etc are often put into a box and may only show a very old version of the cultures art. I wondered if this terminology is necessary when creating an exhibition. These boxes that the white man puts our art into makes it impossible for younger artist to be views as individuals and having multicultural influences. 

Reading about the Palm Island violence , and how its own Australian residence did not know this was happening in their backyard reminds me to stay in the know of what is happening in my own country as well. It really does not take much time to look up what has happened and what is happening. 

What is Curatorial Activism? by Dr. Maura Reilly | ArtNews

“The Yams art collective withdrew their work from the Biennial in disgust at the show’s lack of black and female artists and its inclusion of the fictional African American artist Donelle Woolford.”

“Despite this very public criticism of their 2014 Biennial, when the Whitney Museum of American Art opened its new location in New York in 2015 with an inaugural exhibition entitled America Is Hard to See, showcasing works in its permanent collection and spanning a period from the 20th century to the present, it was an astonishing 69% male and 77% white—which, in my opinion, amounts to serious curatorial malpractice.”

Bringing us back to the last week discussion I most likely said I was shocked, but not surprised that They included a fictional African-American artist, but the feeling I definitely felt was discussed because of the audacity they had to created and presented in the end. I’m glad that the Yams art collective withdrew their work like we mentioned before, are we willing to sacrifice money and exposure over betraying our morals and the communities we want to uplift. 

Despite the criticism they continued to have the audacity to show their viewers their collection over the years that is predominantly, white and male. In a new location potentially they would curate new artists but with the title “America is hard to see“ I feel like that exhibition was hard to see or digest by those who criticized their exhibition just a year prior.

I was wanting to make a video for my midterm of a art demonstration, others can do at home or with friends that allows their spirits to feel free.