Patrick Maguire with his floor installation at Whitdel in July 2012.Home > Essays > Learning from the Whitdel mistake
By Alonso del Arte, April 25, 2016
The eviction of the Whitdel Arts people from the Whitdel Apartments building was, in my opinion, a long overdue correction. Of course the Whitdel Arts board would prefer that you see it as an irreversible tragedy, and that you see them as victims and as the only people capable of running an art gallery in that building.
Patrick Maguire with his floor installation at Whitdel in July 2012.It becomes a little hard to see things that way when you become aware of the fact that Whitdel Arts did not have to pay rent to Southwest Solutions, and the fact that Whitdel Arts didn't have to pay for utilities either. Suppose rent was 25¢ a square foot per month. That works out to $450 a month. Utilities (water and energy) would be less than at a house where someone showers, cooks and sleeps on a daily basis, but still some amount of money.
The Whitdel Arts people obscure these realities by talking about a "lease agreement" with Southwest Solutions instead of talking about the free rent and free utilities (water and energy, though no phone or Internet) they got from Southwest Solutions. It's a very clever and deceptive word choice on the part of Whitdel Arts.
The directors of Southwest Solutions now have an opportunity to ask themselves: "Do we want to provide for an art gallery in that building? And if so, what do we expect to get in return for our generosity? And how do we make sure we get the results we want?" It also presents an opportunity for those who live in the community, such as myself, to let it be known what we want for an art gallery in the community that is getting free rent and utilities.
Apparently there was some talk of a community mission when Whitdel Arts was getting started a few years ago, and Steven Gabrys of Southwest Solutions earlier this year fretted that that community mission was "being lost." It's difficult to determine if the community mission is being lost if no one can remember what it was supposed to be in the first place.
I seriously doubt that the community mission for an art gallery located in the Mexicantown of a predominantly black city called for ignoring the talented black and Latino artists who live in this city.
It is true that black and Latino artists have exhibited at Whitdel Arts. But that's something that has happened so rarely since 2011 that when it happened, it stood out. There was one black artist who exhibited at Whitdel in 2012, and when I met her, something in my mind said that I must photograph her, that for some reason I could not consciously articulate at the time, there needed to be a record of her having exhibited at Whitdel. It wouldn't be until 2014 that a black man would exhibit at Whitdel.
Top row, left to right: Tiffany Best, Emily Thornhill and Sydney Conaway. Bottom row, left to right: maybe one other artist whose name I can't find in my notes, Tiff Massey and David O'Dell. These are the artists who exhibited at Whitdel Arts in August 2012. Percentage-wise, this was a high point of diversity for Whitdel Arts at the time.
It is also true that artists from around the world have exhibited at Whitdel without ever setting foot in the gallery, so it's possible that they're not all white artists. However, the processes that Whitdel used to get non-local artists mostly drew white artists.
For example, membership fees and jury fees, even if rather modest, are very useful in discouraging black and Latino artists. Lots of black and Latino artists can afford to pay these fees, but these fees send a clear message: "You are not wanted here. We'll take your money, but we're not going to consider you seriously or fairly." Whether this message is intentional or not, the result is the same.
And it is also true that the Whitdel Arts board included an Asian American, a Latino and (after May 2014) a black guy. But what good is having a diverse board if it doesn't translate to diversity among the exhibiting artists? Did those board members do anything proactive to overcome the skepticism of artists of those races? Maybe, maybe not, I don't actually know. Either way, it doesn't look good for them.
The race breakdown of the exhibiting artists is important if the community mission has a component of exposing the neighborhood residents to art. If you only exhibit a bunch of white guys, don't be surprised when mostly only white people from the suburbs come to your opening receptions. Nor should you be surprised that black and Latino artists don't inquire about exhibiting in your gallery.
I think that if you have in each exhibit one high-profile international artist together with a few talented but overlooked artists who live in the neighborhood, you will draw art connoisseurs from the suburbs as well as a lot of people from the neighborhood.
The Whitdel Arts people claim that they have a monopoly on the name "Whitdel Arts." But it doesn't actually matter if that's legally enforceable or not. If there is to be a gallery in the Whitdel Apartments building and that gallery is going to have a strong commitment to the community mission, then that gallery needs a new name so as to distance itself from the Whitdel Arts mistake. How about "Mexicantown Art Gallery"? That's just one of many suggestions.
More important than the name, however, is periodic monitoring. The director of the gallery, whatever it is to be called, should have Southwest Solutions as his first loyalty. And he should make reports at periodic intervals to Southwest Solutions so that the directorate may decide whether he's on the right track, drifting off course or losing interest, and thus apply corrective action before too many months pass by and the only course of action is a drastic one.
If the gallery is doing right by the community mission, then it is quite reasonable to want positive press for it. Controversial art distracts from positive press. I can already hear people whining about freedom of expression. Well, when they can pay the rent and the utilities, then we can have a serious conversation about freedom of expression.
In summary, in order for a gallery located in the Whitdel Apartments building, charged with a community mission, to succeed, Southwest Solutions needs to do the following:
These are my thoughts on the issue. Southwest Solutions won't make any public statement on the matter any time soon. For now, I hope that anyone reaching out to Southwest Solutions to express an opinion about this does so fully aware of the great generosity that Southwest Solutions extended to Whitdel Arts for far too long, and how little Southwest Solutions got in return for that generosity.