Guess what, SOTAns? Our two-part conversation has turned into a three parter! Hooray!

Jasa has more questions about the Met’s new paid internship, funded by the Magical Philanthropic Fairy. How much will the Met be paying the interns? What about institutions that haven’t been visited by the Fairy? Could Adrienne Arsht’s philanthropy inspire others to donate money to pay internships rather than donating funds to put their name on a work of art?

Now is the time to transform what museum budgets need to do. Paying internships could change the entire premise of what it means to be a keeper of culture in the United States, easily diversify the arts, and allow Museums to be arbiters of their own continuity.

Let us know what you think in the comments - part III will be released next Monday!

Links:

Adrienne Arsht Gives the Met $5 Million for Paid Internships and MetLiveArts Programming Focused on Themes of Resilience

Greetings, SOTAns! 

This week, we're talking about how the Metropolitan Museum in New York will now start paying interns. YAY! Right? Yes and no. Although the Met is one of the most visited museums in the US and does carry influence, it's the source of the paid internship funding that is the issue. The Met received a $5 million dollar gift from a philanthropist (who, seems to be on the up-and-up–we checked.). This is well and good, but it's not a reality for every museum and nonprofit everywhere. The Magical Philanthropic Fairy will not put that amount of money under every institution's pillow. This time, when museum budgets have been cut to their bare bones in the wake of the pandemic, makes now a perfect opportunity for organizations to build paid internships into their entire operating budgets for the future. This needs to happen in order to combat classist and racist discrimination in the art world. We have a lot to say on this so, this is our first ever two-parter. Join us for part one!

References:

Hey Sotans! We detour briefly from our ongoing discussion of systemic racism and inequity within the arts to discuss the City Pages “Best of” 2020 edition. City Pages, a simultaneously well-loved and much-despised entertainment and news outlet based in Minneapolis, puts together a list of the “Best of” EVERYTHING in the Twin Cities - ice cream, theater, exhibitions, etc. Jasa and Sarah found at least 11 items named the “Best of” had been discussed on SOTA!

So join us, Sota fam, as we take a dive into the best that Minnesota has to offer.

Heads up: We are now selling SHIRTS!!! Visit our instagram @stateoftheartspod for details on how to win one for free!

Show note links, in order of mention:

Hello SOTAns! This week, we discuss the public art work statue A Surge of Power (Jen Reid) by Marc Quinn and collaborator/subject, Jen Reid. This piece was erected by the artist in place of a toppled monument that depicted a slave trader in Bristol, UK. Although the sculpture was quickly removed by the city, controversy around this piece still lingers. Did Quinn (a white male artist) exploit Reid's likeness (a woman of color)? Was their collaboration genuine? Did the artist take away an opportunity for a BIPOC artist? Tune in for our recap of the story and discussion. We would love to hear your thoughts!

References:

Slave trader’s portrait removed from Bristol lord mayor’s office

With the recent toppling of the Christopher Columbus monument in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Jasa and Sarah wondered - what if we created more monuments for the historically (and currently) significant BIPOC of Minnesota? In this episode of SOTA, w eexplore Minnesota Monuments, and the BIPOC people who should be memorialized in the form of a public likeness. Architecture, Law, and Hair Gel are only a few of the notable developments for which people like Carl Fraction, Reatha Clark King, and Clarence “Cap” Wigington should be recognized.

The Great Migration

Frederick McKinley Jones, innovator of many devices

Hello SOTAns! This week, we're talking a little art history and a little current affairs. We recorded the original rendition of the episode back when we were just trying to keep you entertained in your coronavirus quarantine, before the murder of George Floyd and the prominent social movement that has prevailed since. We took this opportunity to reflect on how we viewed our subjects before beginning this journey in ernest to educate ourselves on antiracist discourse and decided to revisit this pre-recorded topic and add to it our critical lens of today. In the original section of the episode, we talk about the Guerilla Girls from an art historical standpoint, informing you about this anonymous feminist artist collective. Then, we did more research into how the collective has responded to the recent social movement which altered the way we spoke about them today. We hope this episode is informative and demonstrates how we in the arts must use intentional research that is relevant to today.

References:

In this episode, Jasa and Sarah focus on humanities institutions that have been called out publicly by current and (recently) former staff. These institutions, SFMOMA (who deleted a comment criticising the museum’s lip-service allyship), NOMA (who was called out on its institutional racism in and open letter from current and former staff), the Toledo Art Museum (who claimed to have no political stance whatsoever), the Palm Springs Art Museum (who was critiqued for their “rhetoric and neutrality”), and the Minneapolis Institute of Art, whose employees created a petition on change.org in an attempt to save jobs.

Hello everyone! In this episode, we examine the institutional racism present in larger and older museum institutions (Minneapolis Institute of Art, Chicago Art Museum, and Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the Cleveland Art Museum, for example). Have the Diversity and Inclusion initiatives by museums succeeded? Sarah outlines three points of contention which Museums might use to examine their internal systemic racism, and how they might combat it successfully. Step 1 - Museums should examine (publicly) where their funding originated, how that shaped the physical collection. Step 2 - examine the museum’s staff racial diversity. Step 3 - What percentage of the overall collection has been created by artists of color, and how are those works presented?

Links:

Mia Receives Funding for Empathy and Diversity Initiatives

Philadelphia’s legacy art museums work to attract a woke generation with frank talk and better amenities 

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Plan - the Cleveland Museum of Art

These Chicago Museums Are Being Paid To Diversify Their Board

Some of the Benin works are being returned! - British Museum to return Benin bronzes to Nigeria

DePaul Art Museum focuses on diversity, inclusion

This Art Was Looted 123 Years Ago. Will It Ever Be Returned?

And then there’s this - Why western museums should keep their treasures

British Museum is world's largest receiver of stolen goods, says QC

Greetings SOTAns,

We hope you are all keeping well. In light of the recent social unrest in the Twin Cities, we are discussing a similar situation that happened in Los Angeles in 1965–The Watts Riots (aka the Watts Rebellion). Similarly to the unjust story of George Floyd in Minneapolis, these riots started with the arrest of a black man by a white officer and lead to community rebellion against systemic oppression against POC communities. The artist, Noah Purifoy, was a resident of Los Angeles and created sculptures out of the refuse from the riots. He later moved to Joshua Tree and spent the rest of his life creating assemblage art, resulting in his outdoor art museum, which we reviewed in the fall of 2018. We wanted to share more of his story, highlighting how his great art career was catalyzed by a striking social upheaval and how his legacy continues on through his art.

References:

*Note: This episode contains historic descriptions of violence against African Americans by White Americans.

Greetings, SOTAns! Thank you for embarking on this journey with us.

This episode is a two-parter: first, Sarah and Jasa discuss the numerous street murals being created honoring George Floyd, supporting the Black Lives Matter movement, and encouraging policing reform. The University of St. Thomas Professors have created a Street Art Database which will document and celebrate the street art being created.

In the second part, we take a break from art-related topics to discuss the history of Juneteenth. Sarah takes us through the first Juneteenth in Galveston, Texas, and explains what this day meant for former slaves and slaveowners in the final days of the American Civil War.

Street Art Links:

George Floyd & Anti-Racist Street Art Database

Juneteenth:

Links, in order of mention: