In our previous post, we wrote about racial disparity in the representation of artists at major US art museums. Gender inequality exists in all fields, but the level is also quite astonishing in this sector. According to a studyon the “Diversity of artists in major U.S. museums” published in PlosOne on March 20, 2019, the overall percentage of female artists represented at 18 major US art museums was 12.6%, and 10.8% of that total was white women, leaving only 1.8% for women of color.

Progress towards equality has been slow, as seen in the number of exhibitions featuring female artists (either solo or group shows) in which the majority of artists represented were female, which doubled from 49 exhibitions in 2008 to 104 exhibitions in 2018. However, these still only made up 14% of all exhibitions during the same time period. Indeed, in a New York Times article entitled “Female Artists Made Little Progress in Museums Since 2008, Survey Finds” (published on September 19, 2019), Julia Jacobs observed that the number of exhibitions cannot be used to measure achievement by female artists. This is because mounting exhibitions is easier and less costly compared to direct purchases of art works by the museums for their permanent collections. Between 2008 and 2018, the top 26 US museums acquired 29,247 works by female artists out of a total of 260,470works. This represents only 11% of all acquisitions. Of the 5,800 female artists whose works were acquired over the course of that decade, only 190 (3%) were African-American.

We are looking forward to sharing more works by female artists in the coming month, Women’s History Month. To close out Black History Month, here are some wonderful pieces by African-American female artists from Black refractions : highlights from the Studio Museum in Harlem.

Image 1: “Spirit of the Elements,” 1979 by Betye Saar Image 2: “Echoes of Harlem,” 1980 by Faith Ringgold Image 3: “Neck Lines,” 1989 by Lorna Simpson Image 4: “River,” 2011 (first constructed 1972) by Maren Hassinger Image 5: “Untitled (Casual Power), “Untitled (Psychosocial Stuntin’) both 2015 by Juliana Huxtable

Black refractions : highlights from the Studio Museum in Harlem Choi, Connie H. [author]   New York, New York: American Federation of Arts; Harlem, New York: The Studio Museum in Harle ; New York, New York : Rizzoli Electa, [2019] 231 pages: illustrations (chiefly color), portraits, photographs ; 30 x 24 cm English "Published on the occasion of the traveling exhibition, Black Refractions: Highlights from the Studio Museum in Harlem, organized by the American Federation of Arts and the Studio Museum in Harlem" ISBN : 9780847866380 ISBN : 0847866386 HOLLIS number: 99153772228403941

🎨 #ArtIsAWeapon #Artist #ChrisOfili "Untitled (Afronude)," 2007 Reposted from @studiomuseum #MuseumFromHome Wearing vibrant makeup and jewelry, the subject of "Untitled (Afronude)" exudes a bold elegance and sense of glamour. Her undulating curves, combined with bluish shadows, suggest the movement of the body. Using amorphous lines, faint contours, asymmetrical patterns, stylized features, and luminous colors, Chris Ofili critiques mainstream definitions of beauty in art history—which are often associated with the white body—and creates new images of the black body to replace stereotypical representations of people of African descent. ⠀ -- ⠀ Chris Ofili (b. 1968—), Untitled (Afronude), 2007. Watercolor and graphite on paper, 24 7/8 × 17 1/8 in. The Studio Museum in Harlem; gift of Chris Ofili - AFROCO 2007.18.1⠀ #Art #BlackArt #BlackArtists #BlackBeauty #StudioMuseumOfHarlem #Watercolor #Graphite #AFROCO #TraScapades #ArtIsAWeapon #BlackGirlArtGeeks🤓 https://www.instagram.com/p/B-Qf0gxA2JW/?igshid=8omcia68rt11

#AllisonJanaeHamilton #studiomuseumofHarlem residents at #ps1 https://www.instagram.com/p/B0l2u-eFagS/?igshid=j9ti3njskkgp

#red402017 #mixmedia #cheetos #art #nycart #harlem #studiomuseumofharlem #manhattan #newyotkcity #newyork #fall2017 (at The Studio Museum in Harlem)

Current mood: Disquiet and despair Aspirational mood: Eartha, unbothered "Eartha" (2008) by Rico Gatson, part of the Rico Gatson: Icons 2007-2017 exhibit, which ends August 27. 💜Today, visit art or make art anywhere and get lifted. 🎨 #latergram #art #ricogatson #earthakitt #studiomuseumofharlem #depression #selfcare #blackicons #arttherapy (at The Studio Museum in Harlem)

I'm thankful for being a self starter. I'm thankful for having a child that motivates me. I'm thankful for friends that push me. I'm thankful for money that comes to me. I'm thankful to work. I'm thankful to be inspired. I'm thankful I come from NY. I'm thankful for festivals and roles and people and women that have come my way and shared the gospel. I'm thankful for the team we've created. I'm blessed. I'm grateful. Let's connect or reconnect this week. #blackenterprise #youngmogul #OheneWine #HRYCRBWT #LosAngeles #blessed #NewYork #Harlem #Ohene #Bandcamp #iTunes #Tidal #Vibes #Timeless #seeyousoon #staywoke snapped by @vybzdealer #Cambodia #Vietnam #Philly #LocalArtist #FriendsfromCollege #KickAss #Blindspot #QuestFest #a3c #sofarnyc #brooklynmuseum #studiomuseumofharlem #poised #OheneCornelius (at Harlem River Yacht Club)

Last night I was humbled to shadow the conversation between these two #masters of their #craft. Checkout @jamelshabazz Sights in the City exhibition and also swing by his #studiomuseumofharlem show. (at DUMBO, Brooklyn)

I looked out the glass doors and there was Thelma Golden. I was slightly nervous to approach her. It was only our second time meeting. We chatted a bit I told her that I came to see the current show. She said you haven’t seen it. Come I’ll take you inside. She fluttered off to the main gallery like a little fairy and me trailing behind her. I was unprepared to see my work hung that way, it was something about standing there in that building, in the still of that space with my daughter present, a Harlem that is changing quickly, a museum that will be torn down in March and rebuilt over three years.

We talked about Ms. Obama’s recent visit to the museum and her reaction to the show and my follow artists reaction to the work. As she spoke tears begin to well up in response to such a surreal experience of being there with her, looking at our images, Lorna Simpson, Carrie Mae, and me standing on an apple box in the middle of Wall St. with white shoes on. So many experiences, readings, conversations, things I remembered all rushed in and surrounded me. I experienced a great sense of time and history all at once as I looked back and fourth between their work and mine. Without a camera, she surprised me when she said “let me take a picture of you next your work.” Suddenly I didn’t know what to do, how to pose or what to do with my hands. We talked a little more and then just like that our moment was over. 

“Regarding The Figure” ends August 6th.

The Studio Museum in Harlem opened in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City in 1968. The museum is dedicated to advocating for artists of African descent, whether African Americans, members of the African diaspora, or artists from the African continent, by collecting, preserving, and interpreting their work. It has served as a place where artists and community members gather, learn through various programing and an Artist-in-Residence program, and promote works by Black artists who have been severely underrepresented in major US museums.  

A 2019 study conducted by a group of mathematicians, statisticians, and art historians showed that diversity in 18 major US museums is extremely weak (published in PlosOne on March 20, 2019.) 85% of artists represented in these museums are white and 87% are men, while African American artists had the lowest percentage at just 1.2%, Asian artists at 9%, and Hispanic and Latino artists at 2.8%.

In terms of gender and ethnicity, the most predominant groups were white men at 75.7%, white women at 10.8%, Asian men at 7.5%, and Hispanic/Latinx men at 2.6%.  All other groups were less than 1%. In all the collections at these 18 major US museums, 44% of artists are from Europe and 44.6% are from North America. By contrast, the remainder include 8.7% from Asia, 2.1% from Latin America, and .4% from Africa.

The Studio Museum in Harlem stands as an important space for Black artists, offering much needed space, recognition, and voice to truly represent our deep history and culture.  

Image 1: Front cover: with “Lawdy Mamma,” 1969 by Barkley L. Hendricks Image 2: “Cotton Hangup,” 1966 by Melvin Edwards Image 3: “Free, White, and 21,” 1980 by Howardena Pindell Image 4: “Hide ‘n’ Seek, Kill or Speak,” 2004 by Wangechi Mutu

Black refractions : highlights from the Studio Museum in Harlem Choi, Connie H. [author]   New York, New York: American Federation of Arts; Harlem, New York: The Studio Museum in Harle ; New York, New York : Rizzoli Electa, [2019] 231 pages: illustrations (chiefly color), portraits, photographs ; 30 x 24 cm "Through exhibitions, public programs, artist residencies, and bold acquisitions, this pioneering institution has served as a nexus for artists of African descent locally, nationally, and internationally since its founding in 1968. Rather than aim to construct a single history of "black art," Black Refractions emphasizes a plurality of narratives and approaches, traced through 125 works in all media from the 1930s to the present." English "Published on the occasion of the traveling exhibition, Black Refractions: Highlights from the Studio Museum in Harlem, organized by the American Federation of Arts and the Studio Museum in Harlem" ISBN : 9780847866380 ISBN : 0847866386 HOLLIS number: 99153772228403941

🔥🎨#ArtIsAWeapon

#Artist Firelei Báez, Fire wood pretending to be fire, 2013.

Reposted from @studiomuseum Start off your week by exploring "Paint Over, Paint Under," a #LessonPlan inspired by the work of Firelei Báez (@fireleibaez)! Learn how to create a layered watercolor portrait using wet-on-wet and drybrush techniques. 🎨

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Firelei Báez creates work that focuses on the experiences of Afro-Caribbean and Afro-Latina women. Her practice is deeply rooted in historical research and committed to redefining dominate historical narratives. She focuses on cultural ambiguity within diasporic communities, strategies for surviving cultural invasion, and redefining identity. Báez's "Fire wood pretending to be fire" is an acrylic and gouache painting on paper. It is made up of a pair of eyes that confront the viewer, surrounded by layers of overlapping colors that create the figure's ambiguous facial features. ⠀

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Download the #LessonPlan at the link in bio. ⠀

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Firelei Báez, Fire wood pretending to be fire, 2013. Acrylic and gouache on yupo paper, 27 ¾ × 20 in. The Studio Museum in Harlem; promised gift of Carol Sutton Lewis PG.2014.4.5 Photo: Zalika Azim

#PaintOverPaintUnder #ArtLesson #StudioMuseumofHarlem #FireleiBáez #watercolor #AfroLatinaArtists

#TraScapades #BlackGirlArtGeeks

I'm thankful for being a self starter. I'm thankful for having a child that motivates me. I'm thankful for friends that push me. I'm thankful for money that comes to me. I'm thankful to work. I'm thankful to be inspired. I'm thankful I come from NY. I'm thankful for festivals and roles and people and women that have come my way and shared the gospel. I'm thankful for the team we've created. I'm blessed. I'm grateful. Let's connect or reconnect this week. #blackenterprise #youngmogul #OheneWine #HRYCRBWT #LosAngeles #blessed #NewYork #Harlem #Ohene #Bandcamp #iTunes #Tidal #Vibes #Timeless #seeyousoon #staywoke snapped by @vybzdealer #Cambodia #Vietnam #Philly #LocalArtist #FriendsfromCollege #KickAss #Blindspot #QuestFest #a3c #sofarnyc #brooklynmuseum #studiomuseumofharlem #poised #OheneCornelius (at Harlem River Yacht Club)

Lorraine O'Grady: Art Is #studiomuseumofharlem (at The Studio Museum in Harlem)

🎨🎙🎬 #ArtisAWeapon The @studiomuseum, @visual_aids and the @sugarhillmuseum present Day With(out) Art 2018 | "Alternate Endings, Activist Risings" free film screening and community conversation - December 4, 2018 6:30pm—8:30pm Sugar Hill Children's Museum of Art & Storytelling, 898 St. Nicholas Avenue, New York, NY 10032 ________________ "For the 29th annual Day With(out) Art, The Studio Museum in Harlem is proud to partner with Visual AIDS and the Sugar Hill Children's Museum of Art & Storytelling for the uptown premiere of "Alternate Endings, Activist Risings." This film highlights the impact of #art in #AIDS #activism and #advocacy today by commissioning compelling short videos from six inspiring community organizations and collectives: ACT UP NY, Positive Women's Network, Sero Project, The SPOT, Tacoma Action Collective, and VOCAL NY. The participating organizations represent a wide range of operational strategies, from direct action and grassroots service providers to nation-wide movement building.  Following the screening, grassroots organizers Cedric Sturdevant (The SPOT), Michelle Lopez (Just KIDS), and visual artist Frederick Weston (Visual AIDS) will join for a discussion moderated by Lauren Kelley, Director and Chief Curator of the Sugar Hill Children's Museum of Art and Storytelling. Panelists will discuss the role of family and community in creative responses to AIDS in New York City and the American South." Tickets and details: www.studiomuseum.org #DayWITHoutArt #AIDSActivism #HIVAwareness #AIDSAwareness #StudioMuseumOfHarlem #InHarlem #AlternateEndingsActivistRising #WorldAIDSDay #TraScapades #ArtIsAWeapon (at Sugar Hill Children's Museum of Art & Storytelling) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bq7LYJ0FfY8/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=tys1h17ha8e9