Over the last few weeks, we’ve asked a lot of you.
- We asked you to give a damn about Tacoma and watched as you filled the museum one cloudy November morning to learn all about our city’s rich artistic history.
- We asked you to give a damn about art and explored how it is humankind’s earliest form of language.
- We asked for your support, and you showed up.
Now, we have another question: Will you give a damn about artists with us?
“The Current, An Artist Award confronts barriers and complex systemic and structural issues art institutions have historically been wrapped up in by developing new innovative institutional practices and creating honest space.”
-Victoria Miles, Rebecca and Jack Benaroya Curator
Victoria Miles, Rebecca and Jack Benaroya Curator, spends her day-to-day creating space for the energies, expressions, relationships, and traditions that make our arts community what it is. She is the architect behind The Current, An Artist Award, an annual, unrestricted award gifted to a Black artist from the Tacoma area in recognition of artistic excellence and future promise.
Q: What is the process of putting The Current, An Artist Award together like for you?
Victoria: Moments of connecting, then silence and stillness, pauses for reflections and in-depth research, space for imagination, creating, and then building. I set out to create something curious, honest, and encyclopedic by nature. The processes, the research, the passion and relationships are the work, and the different iterations in the space are a reflection of that. The Current, An Artist Award is an embodiment of different energies, artist relationships, artistic expressions, experimentations, and Black artistic traditions.
Worldmaking, the threading of ideas, and immersion is a key part of the process and ethos of The Current, An Artist Award. Approaching The Current, An Artist Award as a cosmos of ideas and interests that we can build on and connect with is of utmost importance and centering this has allowed The Current to evolve into what it is now.
Q: How has The Current, An Artist Award evolved since its inception, and what kind of artist community have you built along the way?
Victoria: The Current, An Artist Award is a spirit; it has a life of its own, and each meaningful idea and collaboration encourages its continued evolution. When The Current, An Artist Award started, its offerings were an unrestricted gift to the awardee. There was no gallery or exhibition associated with it yet. However, space was always a goal and integral to the work because The Current, An Artist Award began with the question of the absence of Black artists in our collection and institutional engagement. Once we had exhibition space, I felt we could really explore the nuances, our niches, interests, and ideas surrounding different modes of creation Black artists are thinking through.
The artist community we’ve built is very special.
Saying the Quiet Parts Out Loud was The Current, An Artist Award’s first exhibition, and we worked closely with awardee Darrell McKinney. Darrell’s practice combines art and design in a conceptual and intellectually rigorous way. This was an amazing alignment. It brought an energy and spirit of experimentation and research to The Current, An Artist Award, fostering it in a natural way. It really allowed us to find mutual moments of connections, of interest, and really dig into exploring different creative processes.
Darrell and I would often meet to have conversations and think through programming ideas. Our conversations would often revolve around art and design and their intricate intersections with race and society. This connection inspired a series of artists’ conversations and workshops that were hands-on and required critical thought.
Kristina Batiste was our second awardee for The Current, An Artist Award. Her dedication to minimalism, paired with precise editing skills, supported her desire to produce honest work. Kristina was the first artist-in-residency for The Current, An Artist Award. Her residency project was titled “The Weight of Water.” This was a series of coil-built clay jars, inspired by the traditional forms for gathering, carrying, and storing water in parts of the world that do not have modern water infrastructure. In the making of these pots, Kristina explored method, shape, volume, and gendered labor. She presented the finished project to board members, interested visitors, and staff. She was also on site working on her project for certain days of the week, opening the studio to visitors interested in learning about the process for this work. It was a candid and introspective experience that left an indelible mark on The Current, An Artist Award.
This past year, I had the lovely opportunity of working closely with Aisha Harrison and Paige Pettibon for the exhibition, tomakesenseofitall. In their practices, these artists honor their ancestors, the land, and their relationships in a very intimate and beautiful way. Their works were exploratory and evoked candid emotional responses. A deep sense of introspection, intimacy and connection was fostered during exchanges with Aisha and Paige.
I’ve also worked closely with artist Cristina Martinez, @sew_trill. She was our inaugural final juror for The Current, An Artist Award, and presented work in The Current, An Artist Award’s exhibition what if. We’ve also collaborated on multiple programming offerings. Collaborating with Cristina for The Current, An Artist Award is always magical; she brings a spirit of growth and optimism that is motivating to all present and attending.
There’s also the collaborative committee for The Current, An Artist Award. These are close, trusted advisors and peers who support the integral values and longevity of The Current, An Artist Award. Having this foundation is necessary for the work we do with The Current, An Artist Award.
The community of supporters we’ve built is special as well; many are people who have not engaged with TAM in the past. Some are supporters of artists we work with directly, and some are curious about The Current, An Artist Award and what we are doing. They regularly attend and take part in programming. Through our connections, we are building relationships that encourage people to be more curious, think more critically, and be more thoughtful and introspective. The community built around The Current, An Artist Award is beautiful, unique, supportive, and lovely to connect with.
Q: What conditions had to change within our community in order for The Current, An Artist Award and the artists it honors to thrive? What does our community look like now that those conditions are changing?
Victoria: This is a complicated question. There are sometimes false perceptions that conditions are improved or changed when you
see certain output from cultural institutions. But what is happening is risk-taking, persistence, and dedication from the individuals committed to this work. The Current, An Artist Award confronts barriers and complex systemic and structural issues art institutions have historically been wrapped up in by developing new innovative institutional practices and creating honest space.
One condition I find myself running into is this: The intentional exclusion of Black artists and Black arts history puts it in a position where it is treated as supplementary to a larger story… and this has a negative lasting impact. This denies the larger truth that Black artists are key producers of knowledge. That then feeds into the risk of overgeneralizing, marginalizing, politicizing and tokenizing Black
artists; forcing their work to be understood as additive, reactionary and responsive.
Q: What makes a supportive environment for creative ideas to thrive?
Victoria: Trust, respect, honesty, understanding, invested resources and genuinely believing in each other’s vision and ideas.