Persistence is an absolute necessity to being a Black business owner. In my experience, it is personal relationships and people wanting to see each other succeed that are key to the building and sustaining of a business.
With the advent of technology, we have become more distanced in our business interactions. What is now a text or email, used to be a phone call or a handwritten note. Technology is helpful, but hinders face to face connections − social media creates a disconnect.
When people tell me they want to “open a gallery”, I ask them, “Do you really want to?” I explain that there is little glamour and lots of hard work involved. I explain that my sole purpose for opening the gallery was to have a space for artists that is inclusive and showcases the work of artists who might not be seen or recognized otherwise.
Twenty years ago grants were much harder to get than now. Getting them was based on budget criteria, and if your budget wasn’t big enough, you weren’t considered. Organizational budget requirements for grants created an inequitable distribution of funds.
You rarely saw Black folks get funding. Access to grants information was also limited and often by word-of-mouth or through agencies. I chose persistence because the gallery wasn’t just for me, but for others. I entered the process knowing how hard it would be and what was at stake. BIPOC folks were falling through the cracks of a system that was aimed at those already privileged. The rest of us would have to go wide and deep.
It was artists, friends, family and colleagues who helped me on the journey, which was often laden with discouragement. Artists, like Frank Frazier, Larry Poncho Brown and Paul Goodnight, were among those who came to my rescue. The constant message was, “You can’t close Art for the Soul; too many of us need the space.” They didn’t just talk; they stood by me and helped me make it happen. When I started out in1999, there were 300 Black-owned galleries nationally. Now there are not even 30! All of those owners persisted, but economics were a big factor in the closings.
It doesn’t help that Black folks tend to not buy art. The general population will spend money on decorating their homes, but original art isn’t readily considered. This is often a class issue. Many folks have bought into the mythology that original art and art galleries are only for the wealthy and the white. The understanding of Black art as the preservation and amplification of our Black cultures and histories, and that supporting Black artists is an active act of anti-racism and the celebration of Blackness, is something that isn’t taught in the schools and doesn’t prevail in society. If youth don’t learn it at home, where will they learn it? Our educational systems have suppressed the arts as “frivolous” leaving them poorly funded and unacknowledged as a necessary part of a whole education. Now, in the move to suppress histories of color and forcibly remove them from curriculums, the mind-opening role of the arts is more crucial than ever.
Climate changes also play a role in the devastation of galleries. After Hurricane Sandy, insurances and shipping fees went up nationally, adding to already overburdened budgets. We saw it coming and persisted; we knew the urgency and we had lived the obstacles. Not everyone won the fight, but those of us still on it need and want your support.
Although March is here, and the impending Spring reminds us of all the changes that still need to happen, we need to celebrate what we have already done. Despite the odds against us, the racism and white supremacism of the so-called “art world,” we have persevered, and Art for the Soul is still active. In a recent exhibit, Black, Springfield-based artist, Ryan Murray, had a successful exhibition on mental health issues and challenges for Black folks in the USA. For the first time, we also now have a full-time gallery “sitter,” Linda Thomas, who makes it possible for programming to go on in my absence. We cannot, however, take for granted that the gallery is immortal. We need ongoing funding and support from our community, and support for our Board of Directors to help me and the artists keep the purpose and vision of Art for the Soul on-going. It is a legacy project and has been home to countless artists at all stages of their careers.
Besides celebrating the gallery, we celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the AfAmPOV. This print and online news magazine is needed now more than ever. The exponential increase of hate crimes and the culture of violence in the U.S. makes it urgent that we connect with each other. As a community-based paper, the AfAmPOV is a constant source of information and celebration, and allows for human connection throughout our city and region as we learn about each other’s events, programs, achievements and news. In the on-going digital divide, not everyone has access to technology. The hardcopy of this hard-earned and ongoing publication can reach in where technology can’t. I commend Marjorie and Frederick Hurst on sustaining this paper — as it, too, is a legacy of which we can be proud. There is no doubt of the work and sacrifices that have gone into keeping this paper going. Let’s persist in our love and faith in each other by showing up, doing the work that needs to get done, and fighting the good fight together.
I cannot say enough how it is solid relationships among people that create the pathways to success, and it is only in our unified persistence that we can sustain what has collectively been built. We cannot afford to lose the institutions we have built — what will happen to our youth, our people, our planet if we continue to allow unimaginative and greed-driven leaders to prevail? When we nurture the imagination and our human connections, we nurture resistance.
I wanted to add my thanks to funders, like the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts and Valley Creates, for beginning to change the way funding has happened in the past. By starting to simplify the application process, increasing information accessibility and conferring with artists as to their needs regarding not just product, but process, they are helping to turn the wheel in the direction of a newer, healthier, more inclusive pathway of funding.
And, yes, we still have a long way to go. Persist. ■