This is the Essay. Yes, mmhmm, writing.

Diana C. Ward
03/08/2024
Art Activism
Doris Cacoilo

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        Art is a way one may express themselves and their culture, a way to connect to others and visually tell your message without using words. At least, that is what it is meant to be. What I Know About Art, by Kimberly Drew and the essay Towards Curatorial Activism by Dr. Maura Reilly, shares how the community of art has been heavily skewed to favor white individuals. How artists of color have been both excluded and belittled for desiring to become artists or trying to even get into the sphere of art. Kimberly Drew was told that if there were talented black artists, they would be alongside the white artists. What is wild is that this is not just with black artists, but any non-white artist. It is truly insane that we do not learn about other world artists from anywhere else, even in our own history. The only artist I learned about fully wasn’t even an American artist. Leonardo Da Vinci, an artist who sort of over taught me. Both of these readings have to do everything with what we have been learning and the readings we have done in class. Like with the Gorilla girls. Both Kimberly and the Gorilla girls have similar problems. The lack of women and people of color in the artist community. Both of them did something to educate people on this subject. Kimberly with her blog post, educating people on black artists, and Gorilla girl making posters and galleries to help spread awareness and educate other people on women in the artist industry.

        "If being in the arts has taught me anything, it is that one of the wisest things anymore can say is "I Don't Know"(-Kimberly Drew, pg 7)

        Kimberly has a lot of very good quotes in her book, and this is one of them. At first it is a little confusing, because usually people react very negatively when told that phrase. Especially those who are older, because they view that phrase as rude or disrespectful. However, thinking about it, it really isn’t. Because saying ‘I don’t know’ leads to a multitude of different outcomes and opens yourself to learning or making your knowledge on a topic clear. Such as saying ‘I don’t know’ when someone asks you if you know how to cook, or if someone asks if you know how to get somewhere. It is an incredibly wise thing to do, especially if someone is asking where something is.

        “Do you know where the knife is?”

         “I don’t know.”


        “Of course you don’t know, you never know ANY-”


    Apologies, projecting a little bit. My father doesn’t like being told ‘I don’t know’ even though it is on par with yes and no. It’s almost like older people don’t like simple damn answers and have to turn anything into a jab at them huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuh?? Surely a coincidence.



        “I did not want to be like everyone else at the museum. I loved wearing glitter-covered sneakers and letting my locs bounce around as I went from meeting to meeting. I did not want to fit in. I also didn't want the museum to be monolithic in that way." (-Kimberly Drew, pg 53-54)


    This quote says a lot about how places meant for creativity are pretty… bland. How blandness or sleekness is highlighted in our modern day as better than something more colorful or even seen as unprofessional. This shows in the design of our buildings nowadays. They’re black and glossy and lifeless. It feels so horribly corporate with no individuality. It is like, one of the worst things, I hate them. It also makes it really hard to find your way around. Let me remember where I am because one of the buildings has a cat on the left side so I remember which side I came in on, and I’m not sitting on the ground crying because I can’t find station 33.. Ahem. Anyway, again a little projecting. But this sort of thing definitely feels like a white person thing, which is strange because they used to love loud patterns and colors, and now they don’t. I don’t know what happened but I am outraged. And I would love to see an artist gallery with people who have ‘art’ on them or turned themselves into an art piece. This individuality is so important and it is honestly infuriating that these people are turning art into a corporate setting!

(figured it out. Part 2 coming soon)