Fairly distant from a past where black artists could not live off their creative practise, they weren’t seen as competitors in the art industry and therefore, were not given a space to express themselves - and now we have Art Basel at Miami Beach including Ghanian visual artist Amoaka Boafa and ART x LAGOS risen to global recognition in 2022; it is safe to say that the future for black people in art has never looked any brighter. However, this does not take anything away from the questions we must continue to ask organisers and ourselves, for example: Are there narratives being pushed more than others? Where do we draw the line between representation and exploitation? It goes without saying that there is still room left for improvement.
The difference representation can do for an entire community is immense. Now more than ever, we can count on representation to challenge social norms and how our children may grow viewing themselves. In the past, the lack of representation has resulted in people not reaching for heights they thought were attainable, feeling unseen, unheard or unrecognised in sectors they’d hoped to participate in and most importantly, made them question their self-worth. On a quest to erase western beauty standards and stereotypes of people of a certain demographic, black representation has opened doors to important conversations we must lead.
To understand the state of black representation today, this would take us to the outburst of social movements and the birth of cultural cancellation. Due to the unlimited access through social media and how quickly information may travel through our phone screens, it has become more and more efficient to call out others' wrongdoings and advocate for change. In this day and age, one could state that it is viewed as to be expected when users place #BLM on their instagram profiles and organisers put emphasis on the BIPOC community to ensure that their art submissions are prioritised. What we have yet to answer is when does our efforts no longer count as a trend and our contributions are normalised? This is because one could argue that many black artists aren’t being celebrated for their art however, for the mere fact of their blackness and it becomes harder and harder to distinguish between those who truly believe in inclusion and those who are following the trend.
Another point worth mentioning is how deep in the rabbit hole we have truly found ourselves in because our understanding of how black artists may express themselves through art has mostly been interpreted in the form of black portraits. In other words, although more artists have reached success, the industry pushes for a single narrative of black people and therefore, also of representation. Due to historical events, black people place a lot of focus on subjects such as identity; however, they should not be limited by it. The selection of one choice of expression over the other is not a true representation of a group of people and will only result as a consequence that art enthusiasts and collectors are not given a range of perspectives and it forces the same artists to stick to the only narrative acknowledged.
In conclusion, the lines can be blurry when we talk about representation in the art world however, it is up to us to ensure that everyone is included into the conversation, black artists are not being used to make a political statement, narratives are explored aside from the ones currently favoured and we keep on supporting the amazing work of artists of our communities, regardless of their race and choice of express.
