2020 Initiative

EXHIBITION RECAP:

In October we launched the Latela Curatorial x Artsy: Women in the Arts (now titled See Support Collect) Online Exhibition. This exhibition featured 102 woman-identifying artists working in and around the Nation’s Capital. The mission for this exhibition was two-fold: to increase the visibility and commerce of women artists, whose sales only make up 2% of the global art market, and to specifically highlight artists working in and around Washington, DC, an area so prominent globally but ignored in the “art world at large”. We knew we would be competing with the presidential elections for press and despite tireless efforts, we were not able to garner any national press coverage. Months and weeks prior to launching the exhibition we called and left messages with all local news channels and every Washington Post Style editor, and sent press releases to local newspapers and global art platforms. It is unfortunate that local media such as the Washington Post only cover museums, excluding those actually on the ground working to promote the creative economy. It is unfortunate that larger art platforms such as Hyperallergic, Artsy, Art Forum, the Art Newspaper and so many others do not turn an eye to the arts in Washington DC beyond the museums. This phenomenon is something we already knew, and our recent experience has only given us more fuel to offer the See Support Collect Exhibition annually, and become even louder about the lack of press support for our area.  The lack of art critics in the Washington DC area does not hold us culture creators and nourishers accountable, nor does it highlight our work; as the platform is barely existent. 
 
Museums are not the culture creators, nurturers and curators of what is vibrating in real life in our city right now – they are amplifiers. That said, Latela Curatorial was excited to partner with so many institutional curators for the programming of See Support Collect. During our two-month exhibition we hosted eighteen artist talks on Zoom, moderated by institutional curators. Thank you to the following for participating:

Vesela Sretenovic, Senior Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at The Phillips Collection, Nathalie von Veh, Independent Curator / Storyteller and Regrants Manager at WPA, Ginny Treanor, Associate Curator at National Museum of Women in the Arts, Lily Siegel Executive Director of Hamiltonian Artists, Lesley Lundgren Director of Exhibitions at Strathmore, Caitlin Berry, Owner of Caitlin Berry Fine Arts, Gary Ryan, Executive Director of the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art, Leslie Mounaime, Curator of Exhibitions at the Torpedo Factory Art Center & Director of Target Gallery, Betsy Johnson, Assistant Curator, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Rebecca Fasman, Curator at the Kinsey Institute, Mollie Berger Salah, Curatorial Assistant for prints and drawings at the National Gallery of Art, Allison Nance, Arts Director at Culture House DC, Zoë Charlton, Fine Artist, Co-Director/Curator of 'sindikit and Associate Professor Department of Art at American University also a huge shout out to Phil Hutinet from East City Arts for giving this initiative press.