Art & The Black Experience: How The Arts give Black Culture A Voice
The Black Population of Fort Collins is just 1.6 percent. That’s me being generous by rounding up the World Population Review’s statistics.
For a college town that loves to celebrate its diversity, a lot of Black and Brown kids rarely ever see it. They're not the ones shown in travel ads persuading potential students and tourists about how great of a community this place is. They're not the ones whose homes and communities are highlighted (Unless it’s in a token attempt to score diversity points before the city continues to ignore their communities and their stories). They're not the ones who get their stories told.
At least, not in the way they should be told…
This isn’t even a problem that Fort Collins deals with independently. Across the country, and even across the globe, Black and Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC) are constantly having the stories of their lives misinterpreted and warped by those who have never been a part of those stories and could never understand them the way the ones who lived through them could.
It has been an injustice that has always given me a sense of dread when thinking about going into the media industry. Will I be able to help give the communities who need their authentic voices heard the most a platform that respects them? I am trying so desperately to create it, but I know society has a nasty habit of making those kinds of goals difficult to achieve. I wondered if it was completely possible.
Then I met Louise Cutler…
Cutler is a soul that has dedicated their entire life to using their arts and talents to give a voice to the Black experience. Her art has traveled the country, using its beauty and themes to give the Black narrative back to the Black community in stylish and impactful ways.
I had the opportunity to sit down with Cutler and hear about what she really hopes to accomplish in her community with her arts. It was here where she told me her thoughts about the theft of the Black voice by a society that benefits so heavily from it.
“If you go into some of the major museums and cultural institutions, the Black American voice has not been heard,” said Cutler. “ It has been snuffed out. You do not see enough Black American Artists in these institutions.”
Cutler’s words hit deep and reminded me of the painful truth. The Black community is often not the narrator of their stories, even at the highest levels of education. As important as the education system is, being an expert in a cultural study, and actually being a part of that culture are two wildly different things.
Therefore, in a bold and beautiful attempt to gain the narrative back, Cutler curated A Culture Preserved (In The Black Experience) right here at the Museum of Art In Fort Collins.
“Being able to share this exhibit with Fort Collins is allowing Fort Collins to see how Black people see themselves, not how you [non-Black Fort Collins residents] see us,” Cutler said.
As I walked through the exhibit myself, I could see just what Cutler had envisioned. I saw the hopes, dreams, and ideals of world-renowned Black Artists and the pride they had for their community. Issues facing the Black community from inequality to oppression, as well as the beauty and pride that all of this Black art shared were all present in one room. It seemed like these Artists were using the arts as their way of using their voice to advocate for the stories of the Black community.
I never heard so much said in a room of silent paintings.
“Being able to present who we are the way we envision ourselves…has literally given people a voice,” Cutler stated.
The arts have been used by Black people as a way of social activism for decades now. From the cultural explosion that was the Harlem Renaissance all the way to all of the visual and performance-based art created during the 2020 Black Lives Matter movement protests after the death of George Floyd, Black people have always used the arts as a way to use their voice to take a stance against the world that is hellbent on silencing it.
Culter’s exhibit is another beautiful example of this truth within the Black community.
I am a Black man living in Fort Collins, part of that 1.6 percent. I know the feeling of being one lone voice in a crowd of those speaking over your message, because I’ve lived it. Truth be told, I rarely ever see people who look like me at the forefront of this town unless it’s for athletics (no shade towards those in athletics representing us you are always appreciated).
So, I asked Cutler what will it take for our voices to be fairly represented on all levels of society. Will we always have to struggle to be heard? Will the Black community stay the minority voice forever? Is change only possible through excruciating loss and trauma?
“I love being able to show these exhibits,” said Cutler. “Because they provoke conversation, and conversation promotes healing, and conversation brings about change.”
Cutler believes that art like this can be the catalyst to provoke true change. I can honestly say now that I see it. I know that it won’t be an easy change. It will continue to take more hard work, but with enough hope and passion, the narrative of the Black community and all the voices contributing to its stories can finally be given the respect it deserves.
This 1.6 percent Black Population may be small, but the ones who belong to this community sure do know how to make their voices heard.
