Support a Legacy of Black Arts & Culture
ABOUT BLACK ARTS & CULTURE COUNCIL
Arizona State University Art Museum launched the Black Arts & Culture Council in February 2023 with a focus on adding to the Museum’s permanent collections and presenting contemporary exhibitions and programs by Black artists. This initiative aligns with the Museum’s belief that the arts have the power to disrupt entrenched cultural narratives and offer new ways to creatively tell new stories that build empathy and connect us to the world around us.
A 2019 study from Williams College found that just 1.2% of artworks in the permanent collections of all major US museums were made by Black artists. This is the lowest share of any race. While the ASU Art Museum boasts artworks by such artists as Romare Bearden, Lorna Simpson and Carlos Martiel, the same percentages are true of our collection. The establishment of this Council acknowledges that ASU Art Museum must take urgent, reparative measures to honor the legacy and continued contributions of Black artists.
Through the acquisition, display and digitization of artworks, presentation of exhibitions and dynamic, free educational programming centering Black arts and culture, the ASU Art Museum will provide transformational opportunities for research and learning for people of all ages. The Council marks an educational and artistic commitment on the part of ASU Art Museum to making the Museum and the objects within it fully accessible to the communities we serve.
Join Black Arts & Culture Council
With an annual donation of $5,000, the Black Arts & Culture Council at ASU Art Museum will participate in building a permanent legacy of black art for the benefit of students, scholars and audiences of all ages and locations. Our goal is to add 100 works of art to the ASU Art Museum’s collections by 2032 via acquisitions, donations and special art commissions.
- The BA&CC dues will fund the acquisition of 1-3 artworks into the Museum’s permanent collection. Meeting annually for a dinner, BA&CC Members will vote on an array of works selected by the Museum’s curators and presented by director, Miki Garcia.
- BA&CC Members will also be invited to join director, Miki Garcia for exclusive artist studio visits, private art collection tours and other lifelong learning opportunities through the year.
- BA&CC Members will advise on exhibitions, educational programs and performances sponsored by the ASU Art Museum
Your contributions will build a sustainable network of support that will attract private philanthropy, corporate sponsorships and community partnerships; be an instrumental force in educating the Southwest communities (particularly students) via teaching guides, special tours and online technology about Black arts & culture; and contribute to revealing the diversity of the Black experience through the arts, with a concentration on the Black arts and culture in the American Southwest and drawing connections with Afro Latinx stories, African diasporas and others.
Your membership donation is deposited with the ASU Foundation for A New American University, a nonprofit organization that exists to support Arizona State University (ASU). All gifts in support of ASU are subject to Foundation policies and fees. Membership may be considered a charitable contribution. Please contact your tax advisor regarding the deductibility of charitable contributions. Acknowledgment confirming your membership will be sent from the ASU Foundation.
We center art and artists in the service of social good and community wellbeing.