African American Art Alive in the District
Black Artists of DC
Black Artists of DC (BADC) was founded in 1999 by Viola Leak, “Planta” Jacqueline Reeder, and Aziza Gibson-Hunter, and the first meeting held in Leak’s home only had ten guests.
In the last decade, BADC has grown exponentially. It currently boasts about 400 members, and the organization has partnered with such groups as the Council on Arts and Humanities, the District of Columbia Art Center, and Howard University to produce a number of exhibitions. BADC’s shows often focus on the members’ African roots, the Diaspora, and what it means to be an African American in society.
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Amber Robles-Gordon, president of Black Artists of DC, feels she inherited an artistic family thanks to the group.
Partnerships, exhibitions help the Black Artists of D.C.
In a city with a changing art scene, 10-year-old organization Black Artists of D.C. fosters a community of support and inspiration.
Amber Robles-Gordon is an African American artist who teaches yoga and pilates, organizes art workshops, and writes an art blog.
“[My work is] colorful, intuitive, and abstract,” Robles-Gordon said of her art, which includes three-dimensional pieces, collages and paper mosaics.
Robles-Gordon’s work was recently featured in an exhibition at the D.C. Arts Center called “Black” that focused on artists’ personal perceptions of blackness. Her work personifies a growing black art movement in the District that is often overlooked.
A Supportive Art Family
Since 2004, Robles-Gordon, 32, has been active in Black Artists of D.C., a growing art organization with about 400 members.
“I just jumped in, and at that time there was a wonderful group, but there wasn’t a whole lot of structure,” she said of the organization, which elected her president in 2009.
Robles-Gordon has been a leader in the group since she joined, curating exhibits and publicizing the organization. She cites Black Artists of D.C. as a major support system.
“My family’s not here,” she said of relatives in her native Puerto Rico, “so I was searching not only for artists; I was also searching for family, and it was like I inherited an artistic family.”
The group, which partners with other organizations and has strong ties to Howard University, provides inspiration to Robles-Gordon and other members.
“Beyond what they gave me in terms of love and support, I also learned so much,” she said.
Michael B. Platt shows his artwork in his studio, located in Northwest D.C.
An Art Community’s Changing Dynamic
According to fellow Black Artists of D.C. member Michael Platt, a Mayor’s Arts Award winner, the art scene in Washington is much different than art communities in other cities.
“I love Washington, but you’ve got to get out, do something someplace else plus home-the world is not like Washington,” he said.
Platt’s studio is located in the U Street neighborhood, which has become an economic, cultural and artistic success over time.
“It used to be a dump up here,” he said. “This neighborhood has changed a lot. This used to be treacherous-you didn’t come here unless you knew exactly where you were going.”
According to Platt, art is spreading to new areas of the city, particularly northeast Washington, D.C.
“Northeast has taken over-it’s the hot area,” he said.
The Black Artists of D.C. membership is changing as well, with some leadership positions traditionally reserved for art veterans going to younger artists.
“It’s starting to shift so that we can have a very balanced group in terms of age because it’s necessary,” Robles-Gordon said. “If you look at the art world and who’s running the art world, it’s usually older folks, but it’s shifting.”
D.C.’s Opportunities and Challenges
According to D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities statistics, the D.C. government’s art budget for 2008 was about $10.5 million. This number is quite small compared to many other national capitals’ art budgets throughout the world.
“We receive one percent of the District’s adjusted Capital Budget for public art,” said Rachel Dickerson, the manager of D.C. Creates Public Art. “This year our one percent ended up to be $1,350,000-half of what we requested.”
Platt says that with the limited art funds, grants are hard for artists to obtain, particularly black and minority artists.
“It seems that a lot of times for the big grants, it’s hard for black folks to get those,” he said. “The main thing is you’ve got to keep doing it, whatever it is, and somebody’s got to know that you’re doing it.”
According to Robles-Gordon and Janell Blackmon, an art history teacher at Howard University, minorities have a history of challenges in the art world.
“We’re not the only ones that are struggling in this industry,” Robles-Gordon said. “Other minorities definitely are, so it’s part of this industry-it exists, it always has.”
“D.C.-specifically with African Americans, they have, in certain aspects, been left out,” said Blackmon.
Norman Parish, owner of the Parish Gallery in Georgetown, says that African Americans’ lack of involvement in the business side of art in the past has contributed to these challenges.
“African Americans were not curators-they were not writers, they were not historians,” he said. “We were not there, so in time, these things have come about, but it’s all been based on those that preceded them, that were doing one step at a time.”
Black Artists of D.C. advocates for minority artists with its publicity efforts and exhibitions, as well as encouraging media and the public to visit members’ studios.
“We try to get people into our spaces to really see what we do, to get exposure,” Robles-Gordon said.
