Art Practical

05/20/2020

"The global visible presence of Indigenous art and makers is critical for the resurgence of Indigenous knowledge, asserting our sovereignty as discrete political and cultural communities and nations. Yet, within art-world centers, inclusion of Indigenous art is complicated by a number of factors including an ongoing omission of Indigenous nationhood expressed as sovereignty."

Jolene Rickard reminds us that the project of inclusion is only an “incidental benefit” to the larger movement and effort to restore Indigenous knowledge and sovereignty. This piece is published as part of On Being Included, guest edited by Latipa & Yusef.

05/14/2020

Support the archiving of Art Practical!

We're working on creating an archive of all past content published on Art Practical and Daily Serving—the decade-long contributions of hundreds of artists and writers. We need to raise some modest funds to support these archiving efforts. Our current goal is $2,000.

We have renewed our relationship with Intersection for the Arts, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, as a fiscal sponsor, allowing us to offer you tax deductions for your contributions and to collect donations that will be accessible beyond the end of our relationship with CCA. Please consider giving at any amount to support the crucial archiving of Art Practical!

05/12/2020

"We unmake linear capitalist time as we walk into the unknown, into darkness, into the hold, the backroom, through the back, on our backs, and allow ourselves to be unmade and remade. We know each transition is dangerous and that not all of us will make it. What is possible in surrendering to darkness?"⁠
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Treva Ellison writes on the "vantapower" of Black geographies and q***r and trans artists of color; illustrating this power through the work of Wu Tsang, Romi Morrison, adee Roberson, and keyon gaskin and sidony o’neal. "Vantapower: An Imaginative Concept Whose Time Has Come" is part of Issue 11.3: On Being Included, guest edited by Latipa and Yusef.

Read the full article through the link below!

05/01/2020

"I think it’s important to continue to pull back the layers whenever possible, to find the core of how and why these institutions still hold space alone as currency and are able to trade it for what they consider to be our cultural, spiritual, and intellectual goods."⁠
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In "MIX and the Museum: Researching the Politics of Inclusion" for Issue 11.3: On Being Included, Qianjin Montoya looks back to SFMOMA's Museum Intercommunity Exchange of the 1970s to move forward. Issue 11.3 is guest edited by Latipa & Yusef.

Read the full article through the link below!

04/29/2020

"Jeamin Cha connects seemingly divergent elements of present-day life. In doing this, she reveals common signs of physical and mental burdens on the humans and non-humans around us, which in turn point to crises-to-come."

New Takes columnist Maddie Klett explores the video work of artist Jeamin Cha in "Trees in Pretty Shapes: Jeamin Cha at KADIST." Read the full article through the link below!

04/24/2020

"If and when the object becomes included into the permanent collection of a Museum, its care becomes immortalized."

Eunsong Kim reveals the institution's distorted priorities through research of communication regarding museum air conditioning in the '30s in their piece for issue 11.3: On Being Included, guest edited by Latipa and Yusef. Read this essay through the link below!

04/23/2020

"How many of us here have found refuge in the artistic compositions of other immigrants and the children of immigrants? How many of us are painfully aware of the whiteness that surrounds our culture?"

Raquel Gutiérrez recounts their experience as a Brown witness in the white cube in "On the Limits of Witnessing" for issue 11.3: On Being Included, guest edited by Latipa & Yusef.

Read more at the link below!

04/22/2020

"We see metal as something that's indestructible, even though it does corrode over time—it's the opposite of paper. I became interested in working with it because we're so removed from needing to learn those trades...I wanted to honor the legacy of ancestors who learned how to do this."

In Episode 11 of Notes from MoAD, artist Sydney Cain and PJ Gubatina Policarpio meditate on the vision and process that inspired Cain’s upcoming show, "Refutations," at Museum of African Diaspora. Cain, a third-generation San Franciscan, talks about living and making art in the city, reclaiming its Black past, present, and future.

Artist Sydney Cain and curator PJ Gubatina Policarpio meditate on the vision and process that inspire Cain’s upcoming show Refutations at MoAD.

04/20/2020

In Episode 10 of Notes from MoAD, visual artist Vincent Miranda and curator/organizer PJ Gubatina Policarpio talk about the ideas and influences for Miranda’s upcoming exhibition at the Museum of African Diaspora. Miranda reflects upon growing up in South Florida and its lasting influences: from Southern hip-hop, the “come up,” lean (“purple drank”), and the stutter.

Watch the conversation at the link below!

Artist Vincent Miranda and curator/organizer PJ Gubatina Policarpio talk about the ideas and influences for Miranda’s upcoming exhibition at MoAD.

04/17/2020

"In photography school, they teach you not to bullseye... but with this series, I wanted it that way because of what I'm talking about: the Black presence in these spaces. You deliberately have to see this Black figure. There's no way to unsee it."

In Episode 9 of Notes from MoAD, photographer Chanell Stone and curator/organizer PJ Gubatina Policarpio revisit "Natura Negra (Black Nature)," Stone’s exhibition at Museum of African Diaspora. Stone walks us through various parts of the show and gives us the behind-the-image process for the compelling black-and-white self-portraits that anchor the exhibition. Additionally, Stone reflects on her family’s ties to the American South, their eventual move to Los Angeles, and how these intertwined landscapes and narratives influence her image-making.

Photographer and visual artist Chanell Stone and curator/organizer PJ Gubatina Policarpio revisit "Natura Negra (Black Nature)," Stone’s exhibition at Museum of African Diaspora.

04/15/2020

"Glass holds violence in a way very few materials do, besides the human body."⁠
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In episode 8 of Notes from MoAD, artist DeShawn Dumas and curator Rhiannon Evans McFadyen discuss the fragility and resilience of glass, the terrifying and meditative properties of art and shooting guns, and the qualities and limits of the art institution as community space. ⁠
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Find this and four more new episodes of Notes from MoAD by following the link below!

04/09/2020

Amid a broader landscape of closures, we regret to announce that Art Practical's publishing relationship with California College of the Arts (CCA) will conclude on June 30, 2020. ⁠
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Art Practical now faces an uncertain future, but we will continue publishing through May. We look forward to releasing the remaining podcasts in our Notes from MoAD series, hosted by Rhiannon MacFadyen and PJ Gubatina Policarpio, next week. We also look forward to sharing a selection of new writing as part of our forthcoming thematic issue, On Being Included, guest edited by Michelle Dizon and Yusef Omowale. These are the last works we’ll be publishing for the time being, so our attention can be turned to archiving all of our content and exploring new avenues. We still hold out hope that the future might carry potential and possibility via new sponsorships, operating models, or institutional affiliations. Though times are uncertain, we’re keeping the door open: Please reach out if you have ideas, experiences, or support to offer for possibilities for the future of Art Practical. ⁠
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Thank you to all those who have supported us: our editors, writers, podcast hosts, contributors, readers, listeners, donors, and all of our collaborative partners over the years. It is only in community with you that this visual arts publishing organization has been able to develop as a people-forward and equitable platform, connecting regional voices from the Bay Area and broader West Coast. ⁠
Read the full announcement at the link below.

Art Practical is the leading publication for the wide-ranging Bay Area visual arts culture, combining international perspectives with a long local history of incubating experimentation and innovation.