The Art of Justice + CCCADI
Where I come from art is a tool for justice and is mostly, if not always, political. As an Afro-Latina designer the topics and medias that I choose are part of my expression and identity. Who I am, my story and my peoples story are always trying to make room in the mainstream world.
As I grew up, I understood that art was a lot deeper than just the crafts they would make us do in school, it encompasses whole worlds of cultural expression that is not seen. In my search to find more artist and thought leaders that felt this way, I discovered The Art of Justice Conference. This past month I was able to attend its 9th session with the community. This event panelist were, Arlene Dávila (A Professor of Anthropology and American Studies) Nitasha Dhillion & Marz Saffore (Members of Decolonize This Place) Shellyne Rodriguez (Community Organizer and Visual Artist) Yamin Ramirez and Debbie Quinoes (that provided updates on El Museo.)
The Art of Justice starts the conversation on what does cultural equity look like in
the practices, people and institutions of and in the art field. As well as continues of the conversation of the long history art has with justice, in many communities. This session was specifically centered on cultural art institutions and how they are funded.
Some of the points that had me thinking were:
I
“Institutions are the Cultural Laws of Political Decisions”
Whether you acknowledge it or not museums and art have a very important role in the preservation of history and culture. With that said, this quote by the artist, founder, yoruba priest, activist Dr. Marta Moreno Vega this statement is true. The art becomes a political and cultural standard. Making museums part of a much larger system that determines what is of value financially, what is of value ascetically and what is worth keeping, mounting, showcasing, etc.
II
“More than half of the NYC tax-derived funding is being given to a selected few organizations”
Now, according to NYC Cultural Affairs there are only 33 organizations that have access to the 1.4 million dollars from the city’s Cultural Institutions Group and among this list there are only 2 Black/Latinx organizations. Now what are the requirements to get on this list? Who determines who gets placed on these lists? In a city where people of color make of the numerical majority it is unjust for the few organizations that get continued funding be limited to such few. Which leads me to the next point that stood with me.
III
“Accountability Councils ”...“We have to be intentional with our work”
Something that was spoken to over and over again was that representation matters. Making sure we have transparency and inclusivity is extremely important. What I liked about what the panelist at the event was their deeper support of representation and how we have to support representation that not only looks like the community it’s service but thinks like us too. Creating councils that hold people directly from the community that can hold institutions accountable is important. Decolonize this Place has been working and challenging many of the institutions on that CIG list in order to gain justice for all peoples.
In short, I think that the art of justice has many faces and much further to go. Below is a one paper that I was honored to be part of creating along with the Caribbean Culture Center (CCCADI), The ICA Fellows’ Cultural Equity Coalition and Dr. Vega. The following paper offers solutions.
