Creating a Space for Underrepresented Artists and Curators: A Feature on BronxArtSpace
“I was always concerned in the lack of cultural equity in museums,” said Stephanie Lindquist, director of the non-profit gallery BronxArtSpace.
The mission of BronxArtSpace is to showcase ideas from underrepresented artists and curators as well as stimulate dialogue around local, national, and global issues.
Linda Cunningham and Mitsu Hadeishi co-founded the BronxArtSpace in 2008. At the time, the building in which they resided, had an extra space on the ground floor. The two thought to turn the space into an art gallery and put on a series of shows and events. Cunningham, who still resides in the building, is an artist who exhibits both in New York and Germany.
“We want art that will matter to the community,” said Cunningham. “We want to have art that focuses on issues that are pressing concerns.”
The last two BronxArtSpaces shows of 2017, Self Organize/Auto Organizar and State Property, featured artists that commented on the government’s response to Hurricane Maria and examined consumerism of prison labor.
According to Lindquist, the exhibitions and shows at the BronxArtSpace are representative of the multitude of cultures present in the borough.
“A lot of our exhibitions are socially relevant,” said Lindquist. “[Self Organize/Auto Organizar] got visitors thinking of how they could come together to create the future they want. [State Property] showcased how many of the goods we consume come from the prison system. The point of that one was to start dialogue among visitors about how society is complicit in this larger system of mass incarceration. The Bronx and Brooklyn are the communities affected with the highest incarceration rates.”
After graduating from Columbia University in 2009, Lindquist worked at Wave Hill Public Garden in Riverdale. As an artist who would frequent museums, she was always displeased with the lack of representation at art institutions. Since working at Wave Hill, Lindquist says that the Bronx holds a special place in her heart.
“I’ve always wanted to see more women, more people of color, more lgbt recognized in these spaces, participating in these spaces,” said Lindquist. “To have this opportunity to manage this gallery is really something special to me. It is a way for me to give back to the community that has given me so much in term of my art career.”
Currently in the process of receiving their 501c3 label as a charitable organization, the BronxArtSpace uses the nonprofit model to focus its funds and attention to programing, paying artists and curators, and offer these individuals opportunities.
Last year, BronxArtSpace launched its summer residency and open studios program. The initiative provided six Bronx based artists with six months of free studio space and a $500 stipend towards purchasing materials. According to Lindquist the program is in response to the critical need [for artists] for studio space.
“Being a non-profit allows us to change our focus, we do not have to just focus on our commercial success. “We can really focus on our mission which is to serve emerging and underrepresented artists from the Bronx and beyond.”
One of the ways in which BronxArtSpace offered opportunities to artists and curators was through their inaugural Emerging Curators Open Call.
In January 2018, Kiara Ventura won the BAS [BronxArtSpace] Bronx Emerging Curators Open Call which resulted in her most recent exhibition, FOR US.
Prior to winning the open call, Ventura had a good relationship with the gallery. Last year, Ventura volunteered and helped BronxArtSpace with install, setting up exhibits, and their public programs. Through her volunteer opportunity, Ventura said she got to understand the operations of a gallery.
“Since this is a nonprofit and they have a small staff, I really got to get my hands dirty in the process,” said Ventura. “I learned so much because I talked to curators, I talked to artists, I held artwork and was tasked to put them [pieces of art] on the wall.”
As a Dominican American curator from the Bronx as well as soon to be graduate of New York University, Ventura says she sees herself as a supporter of artists of color and emerging underrepresented artists.
“[Artists of color] That is the community I am from and that is the community I want to serve,” said Ventura.
Throughout her curatorial process, Ventura said she kept asking herself, “What does freedom look like?”
“One of the ideas [of FOR US] was the question: How can we move towards freedom if we do not imagine it first? When you think of that you may first think, ‘Oh so all of these artists are trying to create a utopian world where women of color are free, themselves, and happy,’ ” said Ventura. “But it is not just that. It is a multifaceted world and identity. That is what I wanted to show through images of self-confidence, but also some of these worlds show the pains and reality of being a woman of color.”
FOR US features eight female artists of color. Through the various pieces in the installation, Ventura says that these artists are creating imagined worlds other females of color. FOR US also features works from females that identify as queer and non-binary. Ventura added that there is no “one way” of being a woman of color.
“I did not want the show to be like, ‘Ya feminism and females of color!’ I wanted to show that [these works] this is intersectional feminism,” said Ventura. “I wanted to show these different identities and the complexities of being a woman of color,” said Ventura. “There are different faces and different sizes.”
Another concept Ventura examined throughout her curatorial process was representation. She says representation is important because it has the ability to break molds and stereotypes as well as show new images.
“We live in an image driven world and though it can be annoying at times, we can use it as a strength as well to introduce images people have never seen before,” said Ventura. “When you keep putting out different images that have never been seen before [like these] you start to mold mindsets and break expectations.”
For Nandi Ayana, a black female visual artist from Brooklyn and founder of Nandi.INK, representation in the arts is necessary because it ensures more authenticity and diversity. From her personal experience, Ayana says that for a long time, many of the stories and images of minorities [not limited to people of color] presented to the public have been from one skewed view.
“In some way, shape or form, the projects we artists produce, are influenced by our experiences growing up,” said Ayana. “For me, a major influence was what I did not see depicted: people of color as the intricate characters they are. “A personal example would be the representation of black people. To this day, I still see non-POC artists who think that darkening a skin tone a few shades and throwing some overly exaggerated features on a face or a body is groundbreaking…and furthermore acceptable.”
The FOR US catalogue, Ventura calls herself a gatekeeper. She states that the definition and notion of fine arts is Eurocentric. Through her curatorial work in FOR US, Ventura says she hopes that she has created access for the community she serves: underrepresented emerging artists of color.
“I definitely wanted to start the conversation around the question: What and who do we think of when we think of fine arts?” said Ventura. “We think of cis white men. I wanted to introduce the idea that females of color can be a part of that conversation and their work should be taken seriously. All of their words [in the catalogue] are straight from their mouths, it is very lightly edited because I did not want to cover their ideas or perspectives.”
In addition to representing intersectional feminism and the multifaceted world of being a woman of color, Ventura says that the exhibition’s placement in her home adds to its social relevancy. She says that knows that most of the people that come to BronxArtSpace can connect to her work on some kind of level.
“Depending on the space, it is going to have a certain relationship with the viewers,” Sometimes we go to galleries and we do not see ourselves, said Ventura.” When you do not connect with a lot of works or w hen you do not see your story being told many times, that basically implies that the space is not for you. With this show, I wanted to show that this space is for you. This is for us right?”
