Warm Welcome
Greetings!
I am so excited to finally put pen to paper on this blog. This idea has been rolling around in my head for years and I am so excited to do it finally!
A very brief introduction, of course, I am Alyssa an art history grad dropout trying to put more energy back into writing and criticism of art history. Living in New York City, I have become heavily disillusioned by the art world but still so heavily inspired by it. My original art historical academic studies explored Latin American diasporic art within the United States context, incorporating postcolonial studies and emphasizing BIPOC artists. I am Puerto Rican and Afro-Dominican which heavily factors into my research interests. I am also obsessed with plants and love reading, especially at the park on a too hot summer day.
Currently, I am listening to the audiobook version of Freedom is a Constant Struggle: Ferguson, Palestine, and the Foundations of a Movements by THE Angela Y. Davis and the way she writes inspires me like no other. This text especially hits so many universalities that I can’t help but snap out of dreadful, depressive bouts. At the same time, why are we still having these same conversations and why have things escalated?
I was recently told by a work colleague that I needed to leave the past behind and move forward. Such an inconspicuous, overarching, common little phrase, but in this context, it was a way to diminish my opinion and point of view of major structural changes and unfair treatment. But after that unfortunate interaction, I remembered how much I hated that kind of thinking. A kind of thinking that puts up blinders to keep the status quo, and in effect the people in power still in power. In all aspects of one’s life you need to remember and hold close to what the past teaches us to forge a greater future; one with humility and awareness. How do we not repeat past mistakes if we don’t learn from them in the first place? It’s a lazy excuse to do nothing and I’ve been getting more and more put off by this thinking.
This blog is to push up against those ideas, to look at the world around us and the people around us as full stories. Ignoring or falsely believing that colonialism and imperialism no longer play a part in our personal and global lives is dangerous and lazy. I hope to present this overarching idea via the context I know the most of and, in my opinion, does the best in pushing forward: Art.
ALSO, please forgive me, I have not been writing/thinking about art in this way for a few years so I am a bit rusty. I just hope this place on the internet can build into a community of like-minded people and that I can learn as much as I hope to share.
My goal is to start with weekly updates and eventually provide a way to open up the dialogue. I am not sure if that will be a discord server or what, at the moment, but I am truly hoping to build this into a productive community. For now, you can contact me via the “Contact” button at the top of every page or directly to my email: peacebyaly@gmail.com.
Warmest of Welcomes!!
Peace,
Alyssa