fORUM I

December 1 — 15, 2018

"Equal and Meaningful Art Access for All"
a panel conversation discussing strategies for equity in the at world:
December 1, 4:30 PM

Opening Reception
December 1, 6 — 9 PM

Forum:
a 9-month Collaborative mentorship

FORUM 1 is the culmination of a 9-month mentorship program with a cohort of eighteen young art professionals. The first of its kind, the program was designed to support the cohort by connecting with established art professionals in Los Angeles providing a space in which to interact with and learn from them. FORUM 1 participants were chosen based on the level of curiosity they had for one another; the drive to learn. The cohort has found strength in the diversity of art and curatorial practices they have as a group. Instead of striving to assimilate the variety of work into a theme, it was the cohort’s decision to display the work in a way that allows the visitor to engage with each individual practice on a personal level.

“The cohort surprised me tremendously. They have shown more energy and focus than I had anticipated, in all areas. Impressively they have maintained a generally high level of continuous engagement and activity, self- organized efficiently and with enthusiasm. The generosity they show each other is heartening and bodes well for their future together, as much as individually.”

—Max Presneill, Director & Head Curator

Equal and Meaningful Art Access For All
A Panel Disccusion

Panelists:
Irina Contreras, Veronique d'Entremont, Meghan Gordon, and Jaklin Romine
moderated by Joshua Oduga

Organized by: Gabbah Baya, gloria galvez and Joshua Oduga with the support of Torrance Art Museum

During the nine months of FORUM, we were granted a unique form of access (that artists are rarely granted in the early stages of their career) that included an established curator, the career-long experiences of various mid-career artists, gallerists and art writers and access to the back rooms of a museum and its main exhibition gallery. For many of us, such access came with a sense of responsibility, especially for those of us who came from communities that have been historically and consistently denied entrance not only to the idea of being an artist and making a sustainable living from such a state of being, but in some case to the arts as a whole. But along with this responsibility, our minds were riddled with various questions: How do we provide access to others ? What are the ethics of providing access? What is access? How do we not burnout while providing access to others? And even a question of whether we should provide access to the current art world or instead provide access to a new art world, one that has yet to be defined or tainted by the art status quo. 

Motivated to find answers to these questions in the form of actionable strategies, we took on the task of organizing a public panel and conversation inspired by the format of those that happened during FORUM. And as a result we bring to you: Equal and Meaningful Art Access For All: A Panel and Conversation for Actionable Strategies and Pathways Towards Art World Equity. Of course, we well know that this panel and conversation is not an ending point or unique, but instead, is a point of continuance between the legacy of those who have pushed to make room for others in the art world and those who may be building a new art world for all.