大象传媒

鈥淚 have learned to accept that acceptance is overrated,鈥� says , president and founder of the (BGBGC), an arts group based in South Phoenix, Arizona. She鈥檚 quoting a line from one of her poems, 鈥淭orn,鈥� about what it鈥檚 like to be racially mixed while trying to fit into a world that doesn鈥檛 easily accept intersecting identities. It鈥檚 an apt metaphor for the struggle she and other women artists of color engage in to find a foothold in the art world.

Roc is African American and Chicana. 鈥淢y nappy hair and my brown skin only get me so far. To them, I鈥檓 not up to par,鈥� her poem continues. She launched BGBGC in April 2021 with an open mic night called , featuring women performance artists and poets like her, alongside craft vendors. A for the event explained, 鈥淲e aim to create spaces to celebrate women鈥檚 art in its various forms.鈥�

鈥淚t was a really good vibe,鈥� recalls Roc, who went on to organize a follow-up event solely for visual artists called . BGBGC now holds such events annually. Roc says her goal is 鈥渕aking sure the arts are accessible鈥� to women of color.

Accessibility to arts-related opportunities is especially important in South Phoenix, where the , and where traditional indicators of institutional neglect are apparent: , , and . 

鈥淪outh Phoenix has 18 food deserts,鈥� says Roc. But it鈥檚 also an 鈥渁rt desert.鈥� Although her goal is primarily to promote art, she wants to integrate it into the spectrum of community needs. And she understands that it costs money to make art, and that setting aside the time to make art requires some financial security. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 why we鈥檙e doing everything that鈥檚 free,鈥� Roc explains. 鈥淥ur programming is free.鈥�

In addition to writing poetry, Roc jewelry and T-shirts. 鈥淚鈥檓 a hustler,鈥� she says, laughing. Like her, many of the artists who participate in BGBGC events pursue multiple art forms in order to survive financially.

Among them is Dominique Daye Hunter, an Afro Indigenous storyteller whose art practice includes 鈥渢he written word, spoken word, and visual arts.鈥� Hunter runs a streetwear brand, , and has written and published a book of poetry and short stories called Seeds: Stories of Afro-Indigenous Resilience.

Hunter is neurodivergent and lives with chronic health conditions, including endometriosis and fibromyalgia. Because her disabilities make it more challenging to work within the confines of a 9-to-5 job, an art career offers her a flexible way to be financially sustainable. But art is also a means of expression and a source of healing. And for Hunter, art is a calling: 鈥淭his is what I was put on the earth to do,鈥� she says.

The Hustle of Art

It hasn鈥檛 been easy for Hunter to make ends meet by selling art. Although she graduated with a degree in nonprofit management from Arizona State University, she acknowledges that being an art entrepreneur can be challenging, especially because 鈥渢he [business] knowledge that is accessible to some communities is not accessible to me.鈥� She has leaned on other women artists who share resources and advice with one another in a group chat. 鈥淲e鈥檝e had to pull together,鈥� she says.

鈥淚 had no startup money,鈥� she recalls of the challenges she faced in launching her clothing line. 鈥淚t鈥檚 basically been about survival.鈥�

---

---

Like Hunter, artist has also exhibited her work at . Nicole describes herself as 鈥渁 Black artist who creates artwork that uplifts and empowers women through body positivity鈥攂eing able to embrace the natural textures of our hair, the curves of our body, the complexions of our skin.鈥�

Nicole鈥檚 paintings depict the faces and bodies of Black women nestled between flowers, honeycombs, and other natural elements. In addition to her original paintings, she offers prints, stickers, magnets, and keychains based on her art. For now, art is a 鈥渟ide gig,鈥� but she hopes to be a full-time artist one day, because it brings her 鈥渟o much peace and joy.鈥�

What Nicole hopes for is the time to 鈥渃reate freely, and not think about a space where, oh, I have to make sure this bill is paid.鈥� Ultimately, she hopes to have 鈥渢hat financial stability to create art for art鈥檚 sake.鈥�

Roc is also hopeful that someday she can quit her job in higher education, where she is a manager of student advising. 鈥淚鈥檓 just thinking about [my] purpose,鈥� she ponders. 鈥淎m I just supposed to be working like this?鈥� For now, though, she plans to remain in her job, explaining that 鈥淚 have a family, I need [health] insurance!鈥�

Roc hopes the community of women artists she is creating at BGBGC not only provides a source of strength, but also ensures 鈥渢hat women have a space to be able to just express themselves and [be] in a comfortable space when they鈥檙e around like-minded women.鈥�

Art in a White Male Supremacist World

Nicole believes 鈥渋t鈥檚 harder for Black artists, for Brown artists, to get their art out there and sell it where people see the value within it.鈥� Indeed, the art industry has long been dominated by white men. A large-scale 2019 examining the racial diversity of artists at major art institutions found that 鈥�85% of artists are white and 87% are men.鈥�

Another , conducted by a behavioral economist, found that people assume art created by men is more valuable, and it comes with a higher price tag compared with art made by women.

These studies are consistent with Nicole鈥檚 experience, where she鈥檚 seen white artists often gain easy access to the validation of audiences, while artists of color have to navigate additional layers of bias. 鈥淚 think it changes the game when you aren鈥檛 Black or Brown,鈥� she says. When it comes to the work of white artists, 鈥減eople are going to spend the money鈥攖hey automatically see the value, you don鈥檛 have to press as hard to show the value behind your artwork.鈥�

But Roc looks at it differently, noting the generations of struggle against white male supremacy that many Black and Brown women artists have emerged from. 鈥淥ur best art comes from struggle,鈥� she says.

Hunter agrees鈥攁nd much of her art is reflective of her African American and Indigenous heritage. Her great-grandmother, for example, was an enslaved Black woman who survived sexual assault and died at an early age鈥攁fter helping her family members escape the horrors of sharecropping in the 1930s. 鈥淚t鈥檚 that intergenerational trauma, it does something to your body, to your genes, and to your mind,鈥� says Hunter.

That struggle continues today as Black and Brown women of socioeconomic and health indicators. 鈥淚鈥檝e never taken a break,鈥� says Roc, who has worked since she was 16 years old. 鈥淚 have too many people depending on me. I have kids. I just can鈥檛 afford to fail. Women of color, that鈥檚 their mantra鈥攚e just gotta keep pushing.鈥�

Envisioning an Artistic Future

鈥淚 started creating art as an outlet to express how I was feeling,鈥� Nicole says, adding that 鈥渟ociety doesn鈥檛 always shine the brightest lights over Black women. There鈥檚 something about being able to sit in front of the canvas and letting your ideas just flow.鈥�

For Nicole, letting those ideas flow onto the canvas is a form of world-building. 鈥淚 wanted something that I can look on and see the beauty within it 鈥� and just see how beautiful we truly can be as individuals and just human beings.鈥�

For now, BGBGC continues to host free events for women artists of color. Ultimately, founder Roc鈥檚 goal is to acquire a facility dedicated to the arts and run by the organization. She envisions 鈥渁 one-story building where we do arts programming鈥攌ids can come in after school, women can come after school, you can bring family鈥攁 multi-generational facility.鈥� She also hopes to organize an art conference.

鈥淚 just want a space for community to come in and be able to do arts,鈥� she summarizes. 鈥淚 want to quit my job, and that鈥檚 what I want to do.鈥�