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 This has been a most outstanding year so far for black art artists and collectors at Art Basel Miami, Miami Art Fair and dozens of satellite fairs around Miami and the wider South Florida and it’s not over.
The afterglow
includes several additional openings, such as an exhibition by the
Kuumba Artists Collective, shows that will remain open and additional
gallery installations. Be sure to stop by the Little Haiti Cultural
Center Gallery. This January’s “Second Saturday” art gallery walk in
Wynwood will, no doubt, contain much of the flavor that just took place
at Art Basel.
For
the past two years, I have been urging all of you to learn more and to
get involved and participate in this serious movement: the promotion of
black art and artists and elevating the dialogue about their work and
what impact it has on society and the marketplace of ideas and the
politics of producing and collecting black art.
This
year offered a feast, including a lively debate about the very
definition of black art that took place at the University of Miami’s
third annual discussion of “Contemporary African Diaspora Fine Art.”
Frederick John Eversley, an established mainstream sculptor, showing at
the first Art Basel, Basel, Switzerland, says of himself that, while he
is black, he is the anti-black artist, suggesting that any label other
than “artist” marginalizes him and, therefore, reduces him to
second-class status in the otherwise lily white art world.
Responses
came from panelists Tuliza Fleming, curator for the Smithsonian
National Museum of African American History and Culture; Laurence Choko,
a Paris-based gallerist; Julie Walker, journalist and cultural critic
for The Root; Juanita Hardy, president of Millennium Arts Salon,
Washington, D.C.; and Ludlow Bailey, curator and art broker.
Black
Art in America (blackartinamerica.com) established a strong foothold in
town with its promotional campaign using the slogan, “Do You Basel?”
So, did you Basel?
Here are a few other highlights from my week at Art Basel.
First,
I realized, once again, that art speaks no written language as I
watched my 2-and-a-half-year-old granddaughter’s visceral response to
what she saw as I strolled her around SCOPE Art Fair. She pointed to
what interested her, from the flaming tower of television screens to the
reflecting pieces of fractured glass, to the tower of cartoon-covered
boxes. It was a valuable lesson for me to remember that all our senses
are involved and words are inadequate to describe the feelings that art
provokes and the little children do lead us.
During
the Black Art in America-sponsored workshops at the Wolfsonian Museum, I
learned from Patric McCoy, Chicago patron and advocate of black art,
that we should all be art collectors, that we need to declare ourselves
so and that too many of us don’t because of four myths: we think we need
to be rich; we think we need to have encyclopedic knowledge before we
collect; we think we need to keep our collections private; and we think
we should magically know the market value of every piece in our
collection. I am an art collector and, there, I said it.
An
eye-opening discussion followed Patric’s presentation that continued
into a panel presentation in which I participated. It included one of
only a handful of black certified appraisers of black art, Diane
Dinkins-Carr. She underscored the necessity of having our work
appraised, especially for insurance purposes. Panelist Celeste Beatty of
the Harlem Brewing Company inherited a major collection which she uses
to support nonprofits by donating appraised pieces for their fundraising
auctions.
So
much to see, so little time, so I read the newsletter published by
Robbie Bell, who collected daily updates on matters such as where to go
and which artists to see, that were well researched and full of useful
information. To subscribe to her newsletter, visit gotorobbiebell.info.
Art
Africa, in its second year, was bigger and better and will grow into a
significant presence next year. Kudos to Neil Hall for this effort.
The
Ward Rooming House, under the auspices of the Black Archives History
and Research Foundation of South Florida, is now an art gallery and will
rotate its collection of local artists, including Pervis Young, Oscar
Thomas and Ferdie Pacheco, every month. Be sure to visit this restored
gem of a building in the Historic Overtown Folk Life Village.
So, did you Basel?
Antonia Williams-Gary may be reached at
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