Antiracism Action Plan

In the spring of 2023, Marianne Boesky Gallery completed The Work, an in-depth anti-racism and DEI workshop conceived of and organized by Black Women in Visual Arts.

Anti-racism work is necessary to foster access and create authentic changes in the art ecosystem and beyond. The Work incorporated fundamental theories of diversity, equity, and inclusion with a resource kit that includes TED Talks, literature, art, humor, improv/dramatic plays, and memes curated to offer an expansive program. Much like social justice practice, collaboration is key and The Work worked with DEI stakeholders to bring a holistic experience to the program.
 

Marianne Boesky Gallery and Black Women in Visual Arts successfully: 

• Completed four modules of TED talks, podcasts, readings, and videos covering a range of topics related to diversity and inclusion including workplace dynamics, unconscious bias, race, privilege, and more.

• Completed a two-day in-person seminar where staff reworked the gallery’s inclusivity statement, discussed staff diversity, and summarized the course modules through lively discussions and activities.

• Discussed personal thoughts, questions, and ideas in individual sessions with BWVA staff to improve individual understandings of diversity and inclusion goals as well.  

• The gallery embraced its commitment to Own, Measure, Report, and Refine its status concerning equality, diversity, and inclusion. Our first step was to execute a staff-wide survey at the beginning of 2021 to identify critical issues of concern.

• The gallery formed an Antiracism Committee that meets periodically to ensure continued action to foster a more inclusive and equitable workplace.  

• Management reviewed opportunities for the advancement of current employees, which resulted in several promotions.

• Management sourced new hires through a broader range of inclusive platforms such as LinkedIn, Art Frankly, ArtJobs and did strategic outreach for candidates to organizations such as Black Women in Visual Arts. 

• The gallery successfully implemented “blind recruitment” practices to fill five open positions. 

• We established Martin Luther King Day and Yom Kippur as permanent company-wide holidays.

• We increased staff diversity. Currently, of our 23 full-time staff, five identify as BIPOC and 11 as women, which brings our percentages to 21% BIPOC and 47% women. And all executive leadership is female.

• We increased diversity among our artist roster. Currently, of or 33 artists, we have 9 BIPOC artists (27%) and 15 Women (45%).

• We reviewed salary practices and audited equal pay ensuring equity.

• We decided to support like-minded vendors, such as the Freize Fair, that have consistently shown their commitment to fostering diversity and inclusion in its fairs. For this reason, we also made the decision to suspend our applications to certain fairs where we feel more progress is needed. 

 
Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Goals to Improve in 2022:
 

• Audit our vendor-related spending toward BIPOC and women-owned businesses.

• Actively track and record the diversity of our applicant pool, hiring decisions, and client base. 

• Give preference to BIPOC and women-owned businesses when procuring vendors.

• Develop a paid Scholarship Program in parallel with our Intern Program to encourage low-income applicants and students to enter the gallery field.

• Engage in a seminar or series of seminars developed and implemented by the leaders of Black Women in Visual Arts (Thank you, great ladies!) on sensitivity and advancement for BIPOC in the workplace. Our first such program is scheduled for March 2022.

To our community,

In the wake of the deaths of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, Aiyana Stanley-Jones, and many, many others we have been left grief-stricken and angry. Unequivocally, we'd like to state:

BLACK LIVES MATTER.

Marianne Boesky Gallery has been a longtime proponent of social justice and has worked to give a platform to progressive issues, but we also acknowledge that we can and should do better.
 

I can and should do better.
 

Over the last few weeks, our leadership team has been reflecting on how we can increase and sustain our efforts to support the Black community and hold ourselves accountable for the actions and choices we make surrounding our support for BIPOC, diversity, and climate justice, issues that are very important to all of us. These changes are not meant to be quick fixes—they won't be easy or painless. Progress is an ongoing, long-term commitment and it's a commitment that we are prioritizing and discussing on a daily basis.
 

In the interest of transparency and accountability, we want to publish the pledges we are making to show you, our colleagues, patrons, artists, and staff, that we're turning our discussions and learning into concrete actions. With this public pledge we encourage our colleagues to take similar stock and reflect on what they can do within their own spaces to further these causes and transform the art world into one that is just and inclusive.

My promise: 

We will continue to communicate on the topic of social change and environmental action.

We will continue to keep you updated about diversity & inclusion at Boesky Gallery.

We will continue to support the Black community, POC, and all other marginalized groups.

We will continue to use our platform to fight for racial justice.

- Marianne Boesky