Dexter Wimberly

The World You Envision

It is not the job of the curator to try to address people’s trauma. At the same time, every curator should be willing to discuss the rationale for what they’ve done with anyone who’s willing to have a respectful conversation about it. And then, at some point, if both parties are so entrenched in their beliefs that they can’t reach any sort of accord, then they should civilly say, well, we don’t agree on this.

I’m not saying tout comprendre c’est tout pardonner, to understand everything is to forgive everything. There are some things that don’t belong in a public museum. There are limits. And even so, there are also limits to what should be done if something like that is shown. If we want to spend our energy on bringing more justice to the world, there are more important things than paintings and pictures and photography. There are people who are actually being assaulted and actually being raped and actually being trafficked and actually being killed in the world. But we are talking about art as opposed to really addressing those things.

It’s easy to criticize art. It’s very easy to say to a museum: Something I saw on your wall offended me and my child. Well, then now what? Let’s say they take down everything that offends you? Then what? And this is not a hypothetical question: Then what? No one’s really answered that question for me.

People of color, particularly African Americans, are at a disadvantage going into that world to begin with. So when [people] try to change things through censorship, this is a very counterproductive way to make the necessary changes happen. The fact is, African Americans have been censored out of the art world forEVER. And so we don’t gain much from using that as a weapon for progress. We’re actually sharpening that weapon in a way that can easily be used against us.

My ability as an African American person who also happens to be a curator, to work anywhere in the world, (with some exceptions I’m sure) is a positive. But I am African American and 90% of the people that live in a city may be white, so why should they have a black curator do a show in their city? You would have to ask that question if you’re also saying that a black person being painted by a white artist and that being shown in a predominantly black community is problematic. Well, then it goes both ways.

And to anyone who disagrees with me, I would just say: Please explain to me the world you envision. I want to hear an explanation of the society where no one has to be offended by anything. How does that work? No jokes. No art. No relationships that make you uncomfortable. There are people that are really uncomfortable seeing a white woman with black adopted children disciplining the black children. They don’t want to see that because that triggers trauma because she’s white and they’re black and she shouldn’t be scolding them for doing wrong in the street even though she’s their mother. I’ve seen that. So I’m trying to understand this world that people are trying to build, because I don’t see it. How many offensive lyrics are on the radio every second of every day in every corner of this country? A painting, on the other hand, you go to see it in a gallery or a museum and you leave. This music is everywhere. It’s inescapable. Where are the people going into the restaurant saying: Can you turn that off?! All of it. For good? You have to be very careful when telling people what’s good for them.

Why aren’t people more outspoken with their contrarian views to this whole wave of wanting everything to be politically correct? They are afraid of losing their standing in their community or networks, or something along those lines. Everyone’s got to make a living. I know that people will hold their tongue in many cases rather than risk their jobs. That’s not a genuine way to create culture. I want to come up with ideas and collaborate with artists to develop ideas that are pushing people to think about the world in different, challenging ways. I have no desire to offend anyone. Offending others has no benefit to me. But in the process of challenging the way people see the world and the way people do things, if people are offended in the process, then that’s just a byproduct.

I’m trying to create the world that I want to live in. And I know that to do that, I’m going to come up against a lot of people who don’t agree with my opinions. But I know what that world looks like and I know it’s not easy to get there. I’m not going to, just for the sake of peace, accept living in a world that is shaped by the loudest people in the room. I’m going to fight for the freedom I believe I deserve and I believe other people deserve. In the world I want to live in, there’s an opportunity for people to have their assumptions challenged. The art that makes me happy might make other people uncomfortable. And it’s okay to be upset about some things. And just to be clear: there’s art that offends me, lots of it, for a variety of different reasons. But even the art that offends me has a right to exist in the world.