[ad_1]
Nearly 700 South Florida artists and community members have signed an open letter calling for the board chair of Oolite Arts to resign following the abrupt removal of pro-Palestinian artwork at a Walgreens in Miami. Oolite Arts is Miami’s largest artist support organization and offers artist residencies, housing stipends, and additional areas of support to the community.
Vũ Hoàng Khánh Nguyên’s pro-Palestinian “How we live like water” artwork was displayed at the Walgreens on 67th Street and Collins Avenue before being removed on May 3. According to an open letter written by Nguyên, Oolite board members made the decision to remove the artwork during a board phone call on May 3 without Nguyên’s consent. Nguyên said Oolite only notified them after the board initiated the removal.
The work in question features an artistic interpretation of the phrase “from the river to the sea,” and was scheduled for display at the Walgreens between March 27 and June 16. Oolite Arts initially approved for installation in October 2023, but Nguyên said they were told the board decided the work was in violation of the organization’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) code because it referenced a phrase considered to be hate speech even though “from the river to the sea” is considered a declaration of Palestinian liberation from Israeli settler occupation and apartheid. Nguyên said they were not given an opportunity to engage in dialogue or clarify their intention behind the work.
“This not only undermines my rights as an artist, but also demonstrates a fundamental lack of respect for artistic expression and the value of open discourse within our community,” Nguyen wrote in the letter. “As a queer first generation Vietnamese American artist, my artistic practice is inherently a manifestation of my belief in the freedom of movement—a luxury within the violent imperial and capitalist structures that form our reality.”
In an emailed statement from the Oolite Board of Trustees on May 13, the board said they regret “that the removal of Vũ Hoàng Khánh Nguyên’s artwork has offended some in our community, and that its contents offended others in our community. We believe strongly in the right to artistic expression, but the particular phrase highlighted in this piece is perceived by many as a literal call for violence against them. As an organization that exists for artists, we do wish we had taken more time to have deeper conversations with the artist, our staff, and other stakeholders about the work and our decision.”
The statement goes on to say that Oolite will address the concerns raised by the artist and others in the arts by “evaluating [the board’s] decision-making in this matter and to put in place policies so that artists we work with have clear guidelines and expectations.”
An independent consultant will also be hired to assist Oolite in conducting a review of the events, provide recommendations for approaching similar situations in the future, and review their policies and procedures regarding exhibitions. A spokesperson for Oolite has not returned Prism’s request for further comment regarding these next steps.
According to screenshots of emails sent to Prism by an anonymous source, Oolite Board Chair Marie Elena Angulo wrote to the two former interim co-directors explaining she had received a call from attorney Jeffrey Gilbert on behalf of a group of Jewish South Beach residents expressing discontent with their current Walgreens window display.
“How did this happen?” Angulo wrote in the email. “It should come down.”
Following the email, according to text message screenshots sent to Prism by a source who has asked to remain anonymous, Angulo went on to send a photo of the window display followed by, “This needs to be covered immediately … I mean immediately.”
Angulo then sent a screenshot of the work’s mission statement, which reads, “This exhibition honors how water, as both a life-giving force and a formidable agent of change, binds and holds us together in the face of profound global shifts, including instances of mall upheaval, genocide and ecocide.” Angulo continued, “And we refer to genocide!?!”
Angulo is also an attorney for the international corporate law firm White & Case, which is closely tied to Israel. In 2022, Oolite Arts received $10,000 from the Greater Miami Jewish Federation, which also has direct ties to Israel. On May 10, the Greater Miami Jewish Federation released a statement condemning President Joe Biden’s threat to withhold sending weapons to Israel.
Nguyên questioned the inconsistency in the application of Oolite Arts’ policies, citing past projects addressing political issues that were supported by the organization. In January, Oolite Arts hosted “Forbidden Pages: Art, Activism, and Banned Books,” a panel and discussion focused on banned books and the censorship at play in the state.
Nguyên emphasized that their work aimed to address social and political issues, expressing solidarity with oppressed peoples and advocating for peace and justice. The removal of the artwork, which features a photo of the Jordan River from the artist’s time in Palestine and Miami’s neighboring Atlantic Ocean and is described as a reflection on water’s unifying essence, came as a shock to many in the local art community.
“I was shocked,” said Chire Regans aka VantaBlack, the 2020 Oolite Arts Social Justice Award Winner. “It’s important for Marie Elena to resign because Marie Elena made this decision. This was not a board decision. This was specifically her decision … just the clear display of a unilateral action is not in alignment with an organization that says they center artists and they support artists and they put artists first.”
The removal of Nguyên’s artwork has prompted a collective statement of solidarity from South Florida art workers and artists demanding transparency, consistency, and policy review from Oolite Arts. The controversy has underscored broader concerns about censorship within artistic institutions and the need to uphold artistic freedom. Calls for open dialogue and engagement between Oolite Arts’ board, staff, resident artists, and alums have aimed to address the situation and discuss the demands put forward by the collective.
“We could have still ended with the work coming down, but there was no dialogue with the artist about how they felt about that,” Regans said. “A conversation should have been had, but there was no conversation … That is not how this specific type of organization, or any organization, should operate.”
The letter, which garnered about 300 signatures within hours of its publication on May 9 and has now surpassed 600 signatures, underscores the broader issue of censorship within Miami’s art world, particularly concerning themes related to Palestine.
“The Oolite Arts Board of Directors’ removal of Vũ‘s work is a part of cultural institutions’ ongoing stigmatization and censorship of artworks and statements expressing solidarity with the people of Palestine—an active refusal on the part of institutions to maintain their apparent values of freedom of expression and inclusivity,” the statement reads. “We believe that as a well-respected and well-funded institution, Oolite Arts has a responsibility to uphold artistic freedom and resist censorship. We call for accountability from the institution for their actions and decisions.”
As the debate unfolds, the art community awaits a response from Oolite Arts regarding the future of Nguyên’s artwork and the institution’s commitment to supporting artistic expression. According to Regans, the organization was scheduled to have a meeting with resident artists in South Beach and board members on May 14, but it was rescheduled to an unknown date.
“What are we saying to the collective community, that you can’t even create work that sparks dialogue?” Regans said. “That is the core of my practice … My work is deeply, deeply political. It can be polarizing. It sparks dialogue. It makes people uncomfortable, but if art can’t do that, then what is it doing? If I can’t talk about what’s happening around me, what the hell am I gonna do?”
Oolite Arts, originally known as ArtCenter/South Florida, was founded in 1984 by potter Ellie Schneiderman as a way to create affordable studio spaces for local artists. In 2014, the organization sold its original headquarters in South Beach for $88 million. By 2019, the organization changed its name to Oolite Arts, and in 2022, they announced they would move to a new $30 million complex in the Little River neighborhood using funds from the 2014 sale. The organization, originally run by artists, has now grown to the largest artist organization in the city, with a board that no longer holds an artist majority.
“It has shifted the conversation because if you have a board primarily composed of individuals who are not creatives, who are only supporters of creatives or collectors, that is a limited voice at the table in heading an institution that serves artists,” Regans said. “If this organization says and proclaims that it serves artists, the bulk of the dialogue should include artists … In hindsight, had there been more of a voice from the artists on the board, there would [not] have been a knee-jerk, unilateral reaction to a complaint by members of the community.”
Esther Park and Munisha Underhill have since been removed as interim co-executive directors and have returned to their previous positions as vice presidents of programming and development, respectively. Maggy Cuesta has been named the new interim executive director. Oolite Arts has postponed their upcoming programming due to the “internal discussions.”
“Our search for a permanent CEO has taken longer than expected, so rather than continue to pull Esther and Munisha away from their critical duties … we asked Maggy Cuesta to serve as interim Director,” an Oolite spokesperson wrote in an emailed statement. “We are grateful that she has agreed to step in and lead Oolite until a new CEO begins work.”
Related
[ad_2]
Source link
