In my Community-Engaged ePortfolio (CP-eP) I analyze existing communication and information responses to Feminist Theory and Black Archival Practice for Black Women Artist, Cultural Workers and Organizers at Build Your Archive located in Atlanta, Georgia, and the Greater Metro Atlanta as part of my work for the CIS 675 course (Community-Engaged Scholarship) during fall 2024. On this page, I provide a list of readings that explore the topics of data justice, post-custodial archival practices, and Black Feminist Theory.
Readings
Cultural Worker, Not A "Creative"
Musa. (2018, October 23). Cultural Worker, Not A “Creative” - Musa - Medium. Medium. https://medium.com/@MusaSpringer/cultural-worker-not-a-creative-4695ae8bfd2d
In "Culture Worker, not a Create" Musa, provided the context in which why we should move away from identifying as creatives and move forward with "Cultural Workers" Most importantly because this distinguishment is one where it's foundation is not capitalsim but liberation. This also leaves room for not only just those who considers themselves artists, but also any one who want to wield creativity into their field of work. They provides the moment of the "Black Arts Movement" where artists weren't creating just for arts sake but "were very clear on progressing a political and ideological line in their work."
Favorite quote: "We, as cultural workers, people who labor in paintbrushes, camera lenses, Photoshop, song, pen and paper, and other forms of artistic labor, have to see ourselves and our work as weapons in a war for liberation."
Off the Wall, into the Archive Black Feminist Curatorial Practices of the 1970s
VANDIVER, REBECCA K. “Off the Wall, into the Archive Black Feminist Curatorial Practices of the 1970s.” Archives of American Art Journal 55, no. 2 (2016): 26–45. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26566605.
Vandiver introduces us to Edith T. Martin, a museum professional. In 1978 she was working to organize a national show of Black Women Artists. Ultimately she “lent forty-six files for the unrealized exhibition -- a mix of artist statements, biographical information and photographs -- to the Archives of American Art for microfiling.” This intentional choice that she made in 1978 became the catalyst of my work for the next 5 years that determined me to prioritize the documentation of Black Women Artists beyond the showcasing of their work and presentation in exhibition spaces. With this act in mind, I am always prioritizing the personal and professional records of the artists. Regardless of whether they are 'on track' to be included in the canon, to be included in the collective memory towards liberation is a greater task.
Favorite quote: "This essay reminds us that the archives we encounter must not only be mined, but also negotiated in order to revise art histories to include marginalized artists and artist groups. To rectify art history’s blind spots, that is, one must not be afraid to look off the wall and think outside the box."
Resources
Just Tech
Website: https://just-tech.ssrc.org
The Just Tech fellowships support diverse cohorts of creators as they imagine and build more just, equitable, and representative technological futures, pursuing innovative technological solutions that advance social, political, and economic rights. Fellows receive two-year awards of $100,000 annually, supplementary funding packages to subsidize additional expenses, and seed funding to work on collaborative projects with other Just Tech Fellows.
W.A.G.E.
Website: https://wageforwork.com
Their mission is "To establish sustainable economic relationships between artists and the institutions that contract our labor, and to introduce mechanisms for self-regulation into the art field that collectively bring about a more equitable distribution of its economy." The gallery that showcased jasmine's solo exhibition, utitlized the fee calculator to determine how much each of us should be paid from the time of proposal to the time of de-installation.
Additionally, their website provides fee calculator that was utilized for jasmine's solo exhibition to determine how Swan Coach House Gallery would support us both financially. They were able to provide an $2000 curatorial honarium, $600 Artist Fee, $250 Marketing Fee and $250 for additional programming.