MONEY ART IN CANCELLED WHITNEY EXHIBIT

Steven Montinar’s digital drawing “Koupe Tet, Boule Kay” (2020) was among the works selected for the Whitney Museum’s exhibition Collective Actions: Artist Interventions In a Time of Change (image courtesy of Steven Montinar)

The Whitney Museum in New York has canceled an upcoming exhibition of artworks created in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement after facing strong criticism for acquiring most of the works through social justice benefits at discount prices and without permission from the artists, many of whom are Black.

The exhibition Collective Actions: Artist Interventions In a Time of Change was scheduled to open on September 17. Curated by Farris Wahbeh, Director of Research Resources at the Whitney, the show included artwork acquired for the museum’s special collections through fundraisers for COVID-19 or Black Lives Matter-related causes and would have showcased the work of almost 80 artists, spanning prints, photographs, posters, and freely-shared printable digital files for protest banners.

“The works tackle the health pandemic, structural racism, and demands for social and racial justice with material diversity and formal ingenuity,” the exhibition’s webpage says. “These projects draw on the long and vigorous tradition of activist artmaking and demonstrate the vibrant, spontaneous, yet tactical work that artists are doing right now.”

The museum states on its website that it had acquired the works “as the projects were launched and distributed.” Some of the participating artists have claimed that they were not aware of the inclusion of their work in the exhibition until receiving an email from Wahbeh in recent days, less than a month before the exhibition’s formerly scheduled opening.

Steven Montinar, a digital artist who was selected for the show, says he has complicated feelings about his inclusion. Because his work is used as the exhibition’s promotional image, the museum contacted him earlier than other participants, on July 18. Montinar had initially submitted his drawing “Koupe Tet, Boule Kay” (2020), depicting a partly-burned dollar bill with the Haitian Revolutionary phrase “‘Cut Heads, Burn Houses,” to Printed Matter’s open call for anti-racist posters, organizing material, and other ephemera.

His work was selected by Printed Matter and made available as a free, downloadable PDF on its website; a week later, Montinar says, he received an email from the Whitney saying the work would be included in an exhibition.

“I’m a senior in college right now, so hearing that the Whitney wanted to exhibit me was huge,” he told Hyperallergic. “A lot of what I’m doing right now is for exposure, because I’m still building a portfolio.” But reading other chosen artists’ criticism of the show on social media today has made him reflect on his own inclusion.

“With the type of work I make, I can’t just not stand in solidarity with the artists and the people who look like me, that’s who I make my works for. I’m conflicted because I want to be able to be part of this exhibition — but at what cost?” he added. “It’s important for me to stand with people. A lot of movements, especially the BLM movement, come from people not being heard. I’m trying to figure out what happens next,” he said, before the Whitney announced the show’s cancelation.

To read the complete article, see:
Whitney Museum Cancels Show After Artists Denounce Acquisition Process, Citing Exploitation (https://hyperallergic.com/584340/whitney-museum-black-lives-matter-covid-19-exhibition-canceled/)

To read another article on the topic, see:
Responding to Widespread Demands, Museums Are Acquiring More Works by Artists of Color. But How They Do So Matters More Than Ever (https://news.artnet.com/art-world/museums-acquiring-works-artists-of-color-1905718/amp-page)

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