The Road Ahead

After the events of the past week, words are difficult. Words fail me. But it’s clear that difficult conversations need to be had. 

The first step in fostering change is a heightened awareness of our own biases and others’ experiences. The second step is action. These are two things we can control. 

To start – some resources: 

Since its inception, art_works has consciously and deliberately, as part of our ethos, sought out artists of color, women artists, and anyone who has been marginalized or otherwise lacked access to opportunities. This often means working outside of the traditional marketplace for art, where less than 10% of artists are black (not to mention the miniscule 1% population of gallery-represented LatinX artists) and only 13.7% are women. 

But sometimes I’ve held myself back from talking about race head on, even if through actions and choices I have advocated for positive change. I acknowledge the privilege and access that I have – that I have had my whole life – as a white woman, and I never want to come across as a white savior. I admit that I have sometimes found it difficult to know what to say, and what’s better left unsaid. 

This much is clear to me: saying “black lives matter” is the bare minimum. These conversations are complex, and they are challenging. There is no one answer. To everyone going through it, and especially to the artists and partners we work closely with – we stand with you. We feel for you. And we are taking action with you in the following ways: 

  • We have made donations to the George Floyd Memorial Fund, The Movement for Black Lives, The Racial Justice Network, and the National Police Accountability Project, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, National Bail Out, the ACLU, and Black Lives Matter

  • We have signed petitions seeking justice for Tony McDade, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and Sean Reed

  • And finally, being very clear: we will continue to prioritize and advocate for artists of color, and we will commit ourselves to having open and transparent conversations around inclusion that spark change

We are driven to reframe the value proposition of engaging with visual art. We’re driven by the humanity of art, its ability to serve a higher purpose, and to convey this truth about the art world: that while some may perceive it as elitist and soulless, those things we’re most frustrated by (namely the machinations of the art market) are the tip of the iceberg, the most visible part of an entire universe fueled by creativity. Underneath that peaked mountain dotted with people striving up, up, up – is a giant invisible cluster comprised of millions of people of all backgrounds, colors, and perspectives, that are creating, many without access to paid opportunities or exposure. Change is possible. There is an entire world of possibilities under the surface. 

If there is a silver lining to all of this, it’s that we will have more societal awareness around these issues than ever before, and we will be incited to take action like never before. We have no choice. It’s an imperative. James Baldwin wrote that what white people don’t know about black people “reveals, precisely and inexorably, what they do not know about themselves.” We need to know our own biases, and we need to reset our internal barometers to pick up on injustices. And not only to pick up on them, but to take action. We are committed to doing this work, with the guidance of those who have been repressed and excluded. 

Another quote from Baldwin - “Everything now, we must assume, is in our hands; we have no right to assume otherwise. If we—and now I mean the relatively conscious whites and the relatively conscious blacks, who must, like lovers, insist on, or create, the consciousness of the others—do not falter in our duty now, we may be able, handful that we are, to end the racial nightmare, and achieve our country, and change the history of the world. If we do not now dare everything, the fulfillment of that prophecy, re-created from the Bible in song by a slave, is upon us: God gave Noah the rainbow sign, No more water, the fire next time!”

It feels like it will never be enough. But we have to move forward. We have to dare everything. And we are in this together.

Natalie Lemle