For the second year in a row, the ALNB has sponsored another Artists of Color (AoC) show. I reviewed last year's show in two parts and I'll do that again this year. This year I'll examine the Overview and Importance statement used to justify an exhibition whose eligibility is exclusively having nothing to do with actual art and everything to do with the skin color of the artist. The complete statement is fair use copied at the end of this essay.
The Sizzle
This year's show is billed as " this show centers artists whose voices have historically been marginalized, yet whose work speaks powerfully to the present and future".
This requires a lot of qualification. First, to the best of my knowledge the Art League of New Britain has never (historically speaking) marginalized any art or artist. In fact this is a minor bone of contention among some members.
Personally, I prefer shows that emphasize artistic quality while most often shows are judged to allow novices and outliers to be shown alongside more serious artists. Who the artists is. again to the best of my knowledge, is not a criterion.
Also, none of the artists in this show have likely ever been personally marginalized as artists. Somebody in that group may believe that but I'd need some hard empirical evidence to believe that claim. As far as I can tell, this cohort of artists have been regularly shown, belong to the great middleclass, and have been around the art block many, many times.
The chances that these artists as a group speak "powerfully to the present and future" is hopeful but highly unlikely - we'll see in part two.
Representation Claims
"Connecticut’s cultural institutions have historically underrepresented artists of color."
Actually. No.
The arguments being made in these paragraphs are will fully ignorant of both Art and the people who make art and the people who buy and contribute art.
First, the demographics of the entire population is irrelevant. True artists are born to follow a calling - to make art. They, as a reality, are only a small population in terms of the entire population. All of that identity politics stuff is meaningless.
The percentage of any subgroup is in relation to all visual artists and not the population of the United States or the world. Add to that, the number of collectors who bought and promoted the art they spent their hard earned money to buy. *THAT* is what is represented in cultural institutions until recently. Today the cultural institutions are curated and run by woke administrations that pander to identity politic driven special interest groups who have NO interest in the quality of art and every interest in partisan politic narratives. Today, ALL of these groups are vastly over-represented everywhere to the exclusion of intelligent and tasteful interests.
The "Struggle"
In this climate, BIPOC artists struggle for visibility
What? Define struggle. The NEA, NEFA, Real Art Ways, and the parade of CT galleries and museums are proxy ATMs for the entire woke parade of special interests.
The Social Example
" this is a platform for dialogue and visibility—a space where diversity isn't a theme, but the heartbeat"
There are a number of platitudes listed in the statement.
The Judeo-Christian ethic of "do unto others as you would have done unto you" is missing here. Bigotry is not a virtue and never was. Passing along this idea to future generations is ... what?.. the shared humanity you want to pass along?
Before anyone speaks the word "equity" they need to actually count the number of art pieces or artists actually being represented in relation to who and what was entered.
Secondly, the white-skinned artists being excluded here are largely, Polish, Italian, Jewish, and European sons and daughters of working class immigrants whose grand-parents were dirt poor, discriminated against in their own time, had zero to do with racism, and managed to work their way to practice art. A lot of schooltime is spent learning about the civil war. It would be nice if the schools bothered to teach everyone about the struggles of everybody else. We all have narratives.
Appendix, the original statement and rationale:
Overview and Importance
Artists of color throughout the state of Connecticut are encouraged to submit up to three works of art for ALNB’s second annual Artists of Color Juried Exhibit!
This dynamic group exhibition celebrates the talent, vision, and cultural narratives of artists of color across a spectrum of mediums. From bold contemporary statements to intimate reflections of heritage and identity, this show centers artists whose voices have historically been marginalized, yet whose work speaks powerfully to the present and future.
Connecticut’s cultural institutions have historically underrepresented artists of color.
A 2019 Hartford-area arts study found that “people of color are not proportionately represented in Greater Hartford’s art workforce” (hfpg.org), and a follow-up report noted this gap prompted an advisory group to seek ways to “increase opportunities for artists of color” (ctmirror.org). National data reinforce the problem: in 30 major U.S. museums from 2008–2018, only 2.3% of acquisitions and 7.7% of exhibitions were by Black artists (sothebys.com), while African Americans are ~12% of the U.S. population. In CT, even smaller institutions skew white. For example, the Florence Griswold Museum (Old Lyme) reported that of 172 works shown in 2023, just 29 (17%) were by artists of color (florencegriswoldmuseum.org). New Britain is 63% people of color—a majority-demographic city where immigrant and minority communities drive local culture. Yet its arts infrastructure (galleries, museums, schools) has not caught up to this diversity. The Art League of New Britain and the New Britain Museum of American Art operate in a city with one of the lowest median incomes in the state (ctdatahaven.org), suggesting fewer private patrons to support broad programming. Moreover, New Britain’s students and young artists have limited pathways: city schools have had to prioritize core needs (and face $300+ million in funding gaps statewide for high-need districts, schoolstatefinance.org), which often crowds out arts classes and visits to museums.
In this climate, BIPOC artists struggle for visibility. For example, before 2024 the Art League had never mounted an exhibition exclusively for artists of color—reflecting an unintentional oversight, given that well over half of New Britain’s populace is non-white.
Organizing a dedicated show of artists of color directly addresses these inequities. It gives local Black, Latino, Asian-American, Indigenous, and multiracial artists a platform they have historically been denied in Connecticut’s art venues. By centering underrepresented creators, the Art League of New Britain's Artists of Color Show begins to redress the imbalance noted by statewide arts studies (hfpg.org, ctmirror.org). Such a show also has immediate benefits: it can inspire youth from New Britain’s diverse communities by putting role models on the wall; attract a broader audience to the League; and build partnerships with BIPOC-led arts organizations working to diversify CT’s cultural scene.
In short, this exhibition is not just timely—it’s essential for equity. As Connecticut’s arts leaders acknowledge, “when artists [of color] are valued, the whole community wins” (ctmirror.org). The Art League of New Britain's Artists of Color Show helps make that winning scenario a reality for New Britain and beyond.
More than a showcase, this is a platform for dialogue and visibility—a space where diversity isn't a theme, but the heartbeat. Join us in honoring the contributions of artists of color and experiencing the transformative power of art that reflects the depth and breadth of our shared humanity.
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