Why This Art Historian Continues to Champion Black Artists
In episode two of The Pearl Lam podcast, art doyenne Pearl Lam, who believes that art has no race or passport, hears why art historian Alayo Akinkugbe has to focus solely on recognising Black artists
“Creativity is not about your colour, it’s not about your passport — it’s about whether you have that gift or not,” art doyenne and gallerist, Pearl Lam (林明珠) says in the second episode of her new podcast series. Pearl Lam’s guest, art historian Alayo Akinkugbe agrees with her statement, saying: “Absolutely.”
Pearl Lam (林明珠) continues, asking: “Of course the Black artist has been disregarded and now you’re putting them back in the important role…but do you actually think that colour or nationality or passport is so important?”
In response to Pearl Lam’s question, Akinkugbe who focuses solely on Black representation in art via her Instagram page, @ablackhistoryofart, answers: “Do you know what? It’s not.”
She adds, saying to Pearl Lam (林明珠): “And I actually wish that I didn’t have to do this work.”
But she explains to Pearl Lam that she feels like focusing on Blackness is something she “must do”. “It’s simply because I cannot believe that in 2018, 2019, 2020, we did not think, we did not touch the work of a black artist on a Cambridge art history degree. I find that insane.”
She tells Pearl Lam that “there’s obviously a big problem” with this severe underrepresentation of Black artists. “Things have changed a lot, especially since 2020, but there’s a gap and it needs to be filled.”
“It’s true that colour, passport, race, these things don’t affect your ability to create art. But I think the reason why I do focus on black artists will always be because [I’m] trying to fill that gap and trying to make sure that we stay part of the conversation after this trend,” she says to Pearl Lam.
The trend she is alluding to is the surge of interest in all things Black after the murder of George Floyd during the pandemic. This was partly the reason she amassed over 62,000 followers on her Instagram page, which resonated with not only the Black community worldwide but also allies looking to learn about Black issues.
She tells Pearl Lam that she worries if the interest in Black representation in art is an issue that has reached a peak after the three-year boom.
“I don’t know if that interest will stay. I don’t think the interest will stay this strong to everyone else, but anyone who works in the African art space obviously is going to keep doing what they’re doing and it will stay relevant to certain people,” she reflects to Pearl Lam.
Interest aside, Akinkugbe stresses to Pearl Lam that she has to continue focusing on Black artists to avoid any misconception of what Blackness is within art history and the contemporary art space. She tells Pearl Lam: “Everything that is to do with Black art or Black artists is deemed political, even if it’s not political.”
She shares an incident with Pearl Lam where she was asked to interview a Black artist for a magazine, where the producers told Akinkugbe to ask her interviewee if her artwork is political. “And I really thought that, ‘This person is not making political work. She’s just making paintings of Black women’s bodies’. I didn’t think of it as political.”
When Akinkugbe asked the artist the question she was prompted, she replied saying: “‘Ugh, everyone — everyone asks me this. And no, it’s not political.”’
Written by: The Producer, The Pearl Lam Podcast
To stay up to date with the latest developments in the Pearl Lam story, please follow Pearl Lam on YouTube, Twitter and LinkedIn and subscribe to The Pearl Lam Podcast.
