Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art’s Post

"The Many West Artists Shape an American Idea" exhibit showcases a fresh perspective on the American West through the eyes of 48 modern and contemporary artists, particularly those from marginalized backgrounds like black, indigenous, Asian American, Latinx, and LGBTQ communities. It challenges stereotypes, explores neglected histories, and highlights the various communities contributing to the region's past and present. The centerpiece, "The Fallen," a vibrant acrylic canvas with concealed mask imagery, symbolizes the struggle for identity, resonating with the digital age's concept of double consciousness. This exhibit's relevance to our civic participation campaign, #digitaldivide, is striking. It parallels the fragmented identities portrayed in the artwork with the disconnection experienced by those lacking access to modern technology. The artists' journey towards freedom and self-expression in 2018 mirrors our campaign's mission to bridge the digital gap, empowering marginalized communities. Visiting this exhibit deepens one's understanding of the digital divide's importance. It reinforces our campaign's urgency in providing equitable technology access, enabling everyone to engage fully in the modern world. "The Many West Artists Shape an American Idea" eloquently intertwines art, identity, and social justice in today's digital era, making it a powerful catalyst for change. This exhibit not only enriches personal understanding but also strengthens our commitment to creating a more inclusive digital landscape. #SmithsonianAmericanArtMuseum #DigitalDivide

🌈 🌈 Plan ahead for Pride Season. Engage employees with presentations that support Queer inclusion, leadership and representation in the workplace and construction industry. #PrideTalk: Language Matters: How Architects and Designers Use of Language Impacts Inclusion/Exclusion by Kudzai Matsvai Language is one of our most powerful tools as it can often include or exclude even when we do not intend it to. As discourse around gender, sexuality and identity continues, it is vital that we are constantly interrogating our own use of language in relation to this ever-changing discourse. In a profession (e.g. #architecture) that is so much centered around people, the way we use our words matters, and it is our individual and collective responsibility to make sure that the words we choose and use are advancing inclusive agendas. https://lnkd.in/gSwsMVDj

Seth Ruggles Hiler - Queer Artist and Artisitic Genius 5.0 out of 5 stars An Important Memoir Inspiring Understanding and Providing Steps of Action Reviewed in the United States on May 20, 2022 Many memoirs paint the stories of lives facing adversity and leave us enlightened and inspired by the last chapter. Julio Roman bravely pushes beyond such a template by page 167 and transitions his book into a powerful resource for us to take our own steps to create change in our communities. Chapter after chapter in Part One of ‘Out of Space: Creating Safe Spaces in Unlikely Places’ shares detailed visions of different worlds Roman enters throughout his journey of life as a bullied gay Latino boy in Newark, New Jersey to an empowered community leader. Each time he enters a space he seems to fill it with light, and then just when he feels comfortable the security of the space is torn away. One may think this cycle would be defeating, but Roman collects wisdom and strength along the way and ultimately creates community centers for LGBTQIA+ youth in the city which challenged him so tirelessly. He shares stories of his faith, how it saved him, and also how his faith community rejected him. This did not drive Roman away from his spiritual core, but emboldened him to do the vital work for the underserved LGBTQIA+ communities of color through public health and community building. Roman eloquently presents to us the idea that a safe space is not necessarily a physical location. It is a place that we all carry within, and when we move beyond our perceived boundaries to connect with others, the unimaginable is possible. This book could not be more important to read right now. In a time when there is emboldened pushback for such growth among marginalized communities, we all need the understanding of worlds beyond our own, the nurturing of empathy, and the realization of our own power when we join it with that of others. My hope is that this message of love and empowerment spreads throughout the world like wildfire. May we be inspired to not trespass against each other, and with meaningful action, welcome others with the burning warmth which Julio Roman creates with his words

There are a few amazing queer anthologies being put together across the continent. So, for Beyond the Margins’ second In Conversation piece, I asked Caio De Araújo to moderate a chat with Kevin Mwachiro, Brian Pellot and Unoma Azuah, all of whom are producing really groundbreaking collections. In this conversation, these four writers and human rights activists unpack the joys and challenges of putting together such anthologies, the importance of this narrative form, and the power in owning and telling our stories. https://lnkd.in/dKz9YR27

A Thousand Channels – a queer (*) mapping 🌎 platform 🎁 “The diverse social and political activities of queer people are mostly fleeting, temporary and not a natural part of the public image of a city. With A 1000 channels, we are developing a platform that offers queer actors, groups and projects a way to report on these spaces and events and make them visible.” (*) = “Pride flag variant based on Daniel Quasar's 2018 design combining elements of the Philadelphia flag and the trans pride flag, and brown and black” (that is what you get when you +c and +v the emoji from the article) https://lnkd.in/eHd6JB6p

We found this piece really interesting and thought provoking, and you might too: Black Trans Masculinities in Ajamu’s Ecce Homo. You'll find it at #Trans #Transgender #NonBinary #TransMasculine #Masculinity #BlackTransMan #BlackTransMen #QTIPOC #QTBIPOC #QTBPOC #QTPOC #LGBTQI #LGBTQ #LGBTQIA #LGBT #Queer

"To truly be transformative, we need to distinguish between markers of difference and forms of oppression. Race, gender, ability, ethnicity, sexuality, and other markers of difference are not inherently oppressive or forms of oppression. Forms of oppression and discrimination are racism, classism, heteronormativity, cis-normativity, binarism, ethnocentrism, ableism, or ageism, etc. They are systematic and violent acts of maintaining hierarchies and positions of power in society." Read the Intersectionality and Development blog piece below. https://lnkd.in/gRShCuHM

Queer Representation is important, and seeing the impact it has in pop culture is significant, considering the wide scale storytelling that comes from comics, in the form of movies, series and more. Here's something write to highlight 7 Ways Queer Representation in Comics is Changing the Game in Africa https://lnkd.in/ecX9BaZ8

Art collectors uttered a cry of horror when they learned they were looking at a "near-real" appropriation of Elaine Sturtevant, not an original Andy Warhol. Handy businessmen who have (some) creative talent are most successful in art. Under "handy businessmen," you can include both gallery owners and self-employed artists. They start small and invest more and more money in cumulating megalomaniacal work that is described as "sensational" in the media. These become crowd-pleasers, which in turn create traveling "blockbuster" exhibitions that museums can "buy into. Investors in these kinds of crowd pleasers are people who have enough wealth to collect expensive art. The top ten richest people do not include women. That makes the woman-artist combination less robust or more risky for investors than the man-artist combination because this combination usually does pay off. Meanwhile, the rise of women in institutional networks has been remarkably successful. Women are increasingly deciding how grants are spent within the cultural sector. This could imply that high-quality art that attracts little audience can be purchased with grant money. Exactly the segment that is classified as a "risk investment" in the art market. So it looks like, a growing balance is emerging at the moment: to put it roughly in general terms: the men are concerned with (economic) quantity and the women are watching over quality. 😆 #artmarket #capitalism #institutionalisation #elainesturtevant #appropriation

🔍 The gender pay gap doesn't just impact traditional workplaces; it reaches into the creative realms of art and culture. Historically, paintings by men have fetched significantly higher prices than those by women, reflecting deep-seated biases that perpetuate gender inequality in the art world. 🎨 In her recent research, Renee Adams dives into these disparities, exposing the long-standing patterns that have placed greater value on male artists' work. This isn't just a case of individual preferences—it's a systemic issue that has shaped art history and the cultural narratives we tell ourselves. #GenderPayGap #Art #GenderEquality #CulturalChange #ArtHistory