On February 6, reporter Jorge S. Arango from the Portland Press Herald featured interviews with David C. Driskell Fellowship and Black Seed Studio residency winner Rachel Gloria Adams ’15, Studio and Program Coordinator at Indigo Arts Alliance Ashley Page '20, MECA&D sculpture technician Athena Lynch '20, and others from our community of artists in an article looking at their relationships to Black History month.
The article—titled "Of Black History month and their work, Black and brown artists say, ‘it’s complicated’"—shines light on the stereotypes, overt omissions, unfair expectations, and misconceptions frequently experienced as Black and brown
artists today.
Page explained how insecurities and a lack of support of BIPOC students felt in higher education, highlighted by a public engagement art project she and alumna Alejandra Cuadra Sanchez ’20 designed at MECA&D in 2019, sparked the inspiration for the College’s first ever Resilience Week. This year, Page will submit work to appear in the exhibition for the third annual MECA&D event (March 11-18) that Lynch is helping to coordinate with the Students of Color Coalition.
“As long as institutions keep white art as the standard, any kind of art is pitted against it,” explained Lynch. “We have to figure out how we change the standard.”
