Howardena Pindell is an American painter and mixed media artist living and working in New York.
RBA: What do you envision the role of the arts and the art world to be in this turbulent political time?
Trump does not appear to be interested in culture, which is helpful as we can hopefully avoid his targeting us with his hatred, dishonesty and confusion . We can be more supportive of one another and try not to allow this current political climate get us down. We have our vote to speak for all of us in the arts. The fear is that our vote will not count because of dishonesty, gerrymandering, "faulty" voting equipment and hacking. We must keep working in spite of the turmoil. It seems like there is something "new" everyday to be concerned about. I try to keep informed by going to the democracynow.org website to get a progressive and truthful analysis of the current news. I look for commentary by Noam Chomsky on Democracynow.org. They have transcripts of interviews. I also listen to MSNBC and CNN on cable while I am working.I encourage contacting your congressperson and expressing your concerns.
IND: How do we as individuals combat the inequalities and disparities we see within our field?
Stay alert to what is going on and encourage museums, galleries and art publications to be more diverse. People of color have been left out for so long especially First Nation artists. Although it appears to be improving, it could be more diverse.