With origins rooted in colonial practices, most museum collections are teeming with artworks that despite being created in a variety of periods, styles, and subject matter, are linked by one undeniable fact: the majority are created by white male artists. This one-sided perspective is embedded in modern museum practices and manifests in the lack of diversity within museum collections, exhibitions, and staff. Consequently, few permanent collections include work by historically marginalized artists and exhibitions organized by these institutions reflect a long-standing collecting practice of erasing the contributions of artists of color, particularly those of women. Despite a history of colonialism and the exoticization of non-Western culture and because of the efforts of activists who addressed these institutional shortcomings, a burgeoning community of curators is ascending. The legacy of these activists manifests in the increased hiring of minority curators and the creation of over 20 curatorial studies and art history programs at minority-serving institutions funded by the Walton Family Foundation, the Mellon Foundation, and other philanthropies. The efforts of artist, curators, and art historians have resulted in a moment of appreciation for African American artists, many of who have been producing work since the 1960s. Rather than seeing this increase in value and merit of African American art as cyclical, I argue that with careful consideration, best practices, and dedication to perceptible change, a permanent path forward is possible.
