Mark Fleuridor, Adventures of Mako #1 (2020). Quilt.
[PRIZM Art Fair](https://olucompany-dot-yamm-track.appspot.com/Redirect?ukey=10FnlPZgs-QMETFYPSN2XFxtjL_m6eUnnWJ5v_C3URJk-209516315&key=YAMMID-22937034&link=https%3A%2F%2Folucompany-dot-yamm-track.appspot.com%2FRedirect%3Fukey%3D10FnlPZgs-QMETFYPSN2XFxtjL_m6eUnnWJ5v_C3URJk-321231260%26key%3DYAMMID-94355975%26link%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fwww.prizmartfair.com%252F) is the only art fair during Miami Art Week to exclusively highlight African/Diasporic perspectives in contemporary art. With works from 45 artists and 12 galleries across the African continent, the Caribbean and the Americas, the fair will be taking place online through the fair’s [website](https://olucompany-dot-yamm-track.appspot.com/Redirect?ukey=10FnlPZgs-QMETFYPSN2XFxtjL_m6eUnnWJ5v_C3URJk-209516315&key=YAMMID-22937034&link=https%3A%2F%2Folucompany-dot-yamm-track.appspot.com%2FRedirect%3Fukey%3D10FnlPZgs-QMETFYPSN2XFxtjL_m6eUnnWJ5v_C3URJk-321231260%26key%3DYAMMID-94355975%26link%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fwww.prizmartfair.com%252F) and on [Artsy](https://olucompany-dot-yamm-track.appspot.com/Redirect?ukey=10FnlPZgs-QMETFYPSN2XFxtjL_m6eUnnWJ5v_C3URJk-209516315&key=YAMMID-22937034&link=https%3A%2F%2Folucompany-dot-yamm-track.appspot.com%2FRedirect%3Fukey%3D10FnlPZgs-QMETFYPSN2XFxtjL_m6eUnnWJ5v_C3URJk-321231260%26key%3DYAMMID-94355975%26link%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fwww.artsy.net%252F) from December 1-21, 2020.
Influenced by this year’s historic reckoning with systemic racial injustices and justice demonstrations, and including an array of film screenings and lively panel discussions, PRIZM seeks to enlighten a deeper understanding of global African identity through the evaluation of its intersections with contemporary visual art.
_FLAUNT_ had the opportunity to talk to Mikhaile Solomon, Director of [PRIZM Art Fair](https://www.prizmartfair.com/), about the fair, the inspiration behind its curatorial theme, and the steps to changing the art industry.
Sthenjwa Luthuli, Reaching For Stars (2020). Woodcut print mix media & paint. 78 x 58⅝ x 4¾ in.198 x 149 x 12 cm.
Nyugen E. Smith, Bundlehouse (All fenced in) (2020). Oil pastel, graphite, colored pencil, lace, fabric, collage, watercolor, acrylic, felt, canvas on paper. 30x 22 x .5 in. 76.2 x 55.9 x 1.3.
**Can you give us some background on the PRIZM Art Fair? What can you tell us about this year’s exhibit?**
PRIZM Art Fair began as an exhibition of 20-25 artists. I’ve worked with different curators annually to organize the fair, like William Cordova, artist and organizer of A.I.M. Biennial, who I’ve worked with for the past four years. Our theme this year is titled _Noir, Noir: Meditations on African Cinema and its Influence on Visual Art_, and is inspired by Senegalese film director Ousmane Sembene. We are sharing how artworks in the exhibition visualize the relationship between film and art, whether that manifests through references to specific films or the connections occur by composition. For instance artist Sindiso Nyoni, who is from Zimbabwe, makes graphic illustrated images inspired directly by film. His work, _Le Noire De (the Black Girl)_, is titled after a film Sembene directed over fifty years ago.
**What was the inspiration behind the curatorial theme _Noir, Noir: Meditations On African Cinema And Its Influence On Visual Art_?**
Each year William and I think about the current zeitgeist. We think about how to consolidate everything happening socio-politically into a focus that will resonate with our patrons. Last year our focus was “Love in the Time of Hysteria” which seems prescient given everything that’s happening in 2020. At the time \[in 2019\] we were also dealing with a host of issues too, like the slaying of Black people and political misdeeds. There was so much to process in the US and elsewhere. For this year we imagined everyone is clinging to the nurture of Netflix and other at-home streaming services especially as COVID is raging. Movies are something people would have more time for now. We thought the cinematic approach would be a good way to connect people to African film and African Diaspora at this time.
**What can we expect from the works showcased?**
The good thing about being virtual is that we have the opportunity to connect with our colleagues on the continent of Africa, where factors like cost \[shipment of artworks to Miami\] prohibited our interactions in the past. PRIZM aims to create a presentation that elevates everyone who is participating to a world class level. This year we are proud to work with artists like Manyaku Mashilo from Limpopo, South Africa (exhibiting with Ujamaa Arts) who draws cosmic scenes with African figuration. Sthenjwa Luthuli makes prints from wood carvings of figures suspended in the air that are breathtaking. The backgrounds are painstakingly created and float the figures he prints. I visited his studio in Durban in January this year and seeing how prolific he is was very inspiring. Troy Makaza, who is exhibiting with First Floor Gallery in Zimbabwe, creates beautifully composed works that are a mixture of textiles and other objects. Adejoke Tugbiyele, exhibiting with Melrose Gallery in South Africa, creates mixed media and sculptural work. She completed a residency in Mali last year and transitioned her more delicate pieces like flora into a bronze medium. She is exhibiting prints and mixed media tapestries.
Justice Mukheli, Departure (2019). 35⅞ x 35⅞ in. 91 x 91 cm. Dyman Gallery
LaToya M. Hobbs, Birth of a Mother (2019). Acrylic, Collage, and Relief Carving on Wood Panel. 48 X 72. Panel ready to hang with French Cleat.
**How does the fair help expand the spectrum of exhibiting artists from Africa and the global Diaspora?**
We essentially show artists that most other fairs don’t show. We do our due diligence to be investigative and find artists who are doing incredible work. Additionally, we feature galleries managed by African and Diaspora proprietors. Our conversation is rooted in African-Diasporic culture and visual practice. We do our best to bring the best from our cultural spaces to the world through PRIZM. Thankfully we have a network of contributors and colleagues who continue to do this with us annually.
**In your opinion, what are the unique challenges that Black dealers and curators face in the art industry, and how can we help change them?**
I think the challenge that many Black dealers and curators face is they were egregiously shut out by the art industry. What the art industry can do to remediate is to be open to working with Black dealers and curators. We’re seeing curators participate in the arts at a higher institutional level, especially this year. Many of the galleries we’re working with through PRIZM have shaped the narrative around African and Diaspora art for decades and haven’t been acknowledged for it. Galerie Myrits, for example, represented Amy Sherald before the she \[Sherald\] became well-known, yet Myrtis hasn’t gotten the veneration she deserves. Several galleries have been in existence for a long time and the industry has never given them the time or space nor performed the sort of investigative reporting on these galleries and their contribution to the landscape in meaningful ways. I love that many of the institutions have been taken to task on how they form their Boards; and have been assessed on the makeup of the Boards, and what their staff looks like. If the US is to be a truly diverse and inclusive country, institutions need staff who can cultivate collections and conversations that resonate with different types of people. The US is a breeding ground for conversation since so many ethnic groups live here. Acknowledgment and careful consideration is the next step and how we begin to change things.
John Baloyi, Lititha 4 (2020). 35mm Film on Fabriano Rosapina paper 280gms. 23⅜ x 33⅛ in. 59.4 x 84.1 cm. Dyman Gallery
Jeremiah Onifadé Barnawa, Is Now On Fire, NTA News (2020). Acrylic and Garri on canvas. 48 x 36 in.101.6 x 76.2 x NaN cm. Superposition Gallery.
**What are some steps we could take to create spaces that protect African identity and culture within the art industry?**
A few years ago there were debates around curatorial directors of African collections in major museums. There’s no lack of scholars of African descent who study art history and curatorial studies and it’s so important that when people come to cultural institutions they see a person of that specific group relaying a message to the public. That goes for any museum. It’s important that the public hears the cultural perspectives of people who experience living in that identity every day. There’s a nuance that exists in being a person of African descent that will not resonate with someone who studies African culture but doesn’t live in a Diasporic body. The same way I may study Native American history but will not comprehend the nuance and complexities. It’s important to engage scholars of African descent to get an even deeper understanding of themselves. People from the Diaspora have been distanced from their African heritage. It’s essential to ground understandings of African identity in conversation with academicians and cultural practitioners who themselves are of African descent and from the African continent.
Also, the institutions that house works from Africa or the Diaspora who acquired those works in ways that were not diplomatic need to have reparative conversations with the peoples whose works were taken. In some areas, those conversations have begun, and there should be more of that. Diasporic spaces are capable of managing their own cultural capital and should be given the space to do so.
**With this year’s historic reckoning of systemic racial injustices, the fair is more relevant than ever, how has that influenced the execution of the fair?**
The execution of the fair has always been considerate of the systemic dynamics that exist. It’s part of the reason we started PRIZM in the first place. We understand the broader art market is not as inclusionary as it should be. We almost think of ourselves as a social justice organization where contemporary art is the vehicle for social justice and social practice. Our business model is in support of the economic justice of the artists and galleries that participate. We’ve had social justice partners in the past like Black Lives Matter and worked with spaces like David C. Driskell Center. It’s such a massive part of our thinking so even prior to this year, reckoning with racial justice is at the core of what we do. I hope this year the fair continues to resonate with people. We invite incredible panelists and speakers and are screening films like When Liberty Burns, by Miami-based filmmaker Dudley Alexis, that reviews a murder of Arthur McDuffie man by police forty years ago that opens a dialogue about racial justice today. The film also includes artists and key figures who are part of the justice movement in Miami. We are not exempt from racism that is an unfortunate part of the American narrative.
Milena Carranza Valcárcel, Serie "Afroperuvian Eggun" (2010). Digital photography. Behind scenes of the Peruvian documentary "Sigo Siendo" of Javier Corcuera. El Carmen, Chincha - Ica, Peru.
Aza Mansongi, Evasion (2019). Acrylic on cotton canvas. 63 x 63 in. 160 x 160 cm. The Melrose Gallery
.jpg)
