Group Works to Increase Visibility for Black Women Artists

Black Girls In Art Spaces (BGIAS), a community for Black women to explore the arts and champion Black artists, has rapidly expanded from a Dallas art gallery meetup to more than two dozen chapters across the US and internationally.

Kaci Merriwether-Hawkins, the founder of BGIAS, described the connections fostered within the group as a joyful and welcoming experience. She began the group after moving to Dallas in 2022 and struggling to make connections in a new environment, contrasting it with the close-knit culture she experienced at Tuskegee University in Alabama. Her interest in art was sparked in 2020 after seeing Black Is Beautiful: The Photography of Kwame Brathwaite at the Columbia Museum of Art.

Merriwether-Hawkins aimed to create a group where Black women could experience art spaces together in an accessible, conversational, and multi-generational setting. The first BGIAS event was held at Daisha Board Gallery, Dallas’s only contemporary art gallery owned by a Black woman. Soon after, volunteers established chapters in cities including New York and Washington, DC. As of August 2024, approximately 30 BGIAS chapters have held events, extending internationally to London, Nairobi, Seoul, and Mexico City.

Merriwether-Hawkins described the group as a “community garden,” emphasizing the contributions of many individuals to its growth. She attributes the rapid expansion to an active social media presence and a clear name that attracts individuals aligned with the group’s mission.

Typical BGIAS meetups involve private tours of exhibitions featuring Black artists, followed by guided conversations and meals. Events may also include art-related workshops or talks. Most events are free, with some select events having a low cost. While open to all, attendees are asked to identify as a Black woman, girl, or nonbinary person, and all ages are welcome.

A key challenge has been selecting appropriate partners and institutions, ensuring inclusivity in their work and avoiding tokenism of the group or Black artists.

An analysis of nearly 350,000 acquisitions and 6,000 exhibitions at 31 US museums between 2008 and 2020 revealed significant disparities in gender and race. Works by women artists accounted for only 11% of acquisitions and 14.9% of solo and group exhibitions, while works by Black Americans comprised 2.2% of acquisitions and 6.3% of exhibitions. The figures for Black American women artists were even lower, representing only 0.5% of acquisitions, far below their 7.7% share of the US population.

BGIAS participants have diverse backgrounds in the arts, ranging from those with limited gallery experience to professional curators and artists. Some have even leveraged connections within the group to secure jobs in the industry.

Looking ahead, Merriwether-Hawkins aims to broaden the group’s reach to Black women worldwide and provide additional educational opportunities, such as curatorial training seminars and art collecting classes.