I’m Not Trying to Change Anything, I’m Just Changing
Public Works Gallery, Chicago, IL
Saugatuck Center for the Arts, Saugatuck, MI
Initiatives
These initiatives are active pilers for us to keep focus on anti-racist engagement through our studio practice.
Ideas Beyond Formats
Ideas Beyond Formats is a paid publishing program and initiative geared towards supporting and amplifying the voice of BIPOC+ identifying artists age 21+. Through the program, we will aid in developing, publishing, and promoting a significant work by the artist (to be defined by the artist). The program includes a $2,000 honorarium and a $2,000 production budget (plus any additional funding we gather for the cycle), both to be managed by the artist. We plan on supporting one artist per year. Find out more on the Ideas Beyond Formats page.
T > E > A> M
T>E>A>M: To Enable All Movement is an initiative developed to foster BIPOC+ voices in creative work for institutions such as museums, foundations, etc. The initiative was launched in June of 2020.
How it Works
When commissioned by an institution for service-based design work, we demand that the "ground crew", the overall team (Design + Client), consists of BIPOC+ members. If the overall team (Design + Client) does not already include BIPOC+ identifying individuals, we augment the design team to include an artists/designers of color as equal collaborators (no hidden credits), and split the payment equally per person. In addition, the projects are ran in full transparency for all parties involved. To honor the client's support of this initiative, we take on the administrative work to help facilitate this collaboration. We are currently engaging in this initiative for projects over $5,000.
Why $5,000
The added administrative work needed to facilitate this collaboration is time-consuming. Reserving this initiative to institutional commissions over $5,000 allows us to sustain our operations at a sustainable level. For information about our initiative for institutional commissions under $5,000 please see Ideas Beyond Formats.
Why it Works
As long-time practitioners in the field, we recognize that the design industry, the design sector, and design itself can be a direct pipeline to a society that furthers suffering. By making room for diverse voices in our field, we are bound to discover new vernaculars to represent a fuller future.
Input
Constructive criticism is valued and always welcome. Thank you for caring.
Disclaimer
We will be adapting and tweaking as things unfold and as things need to be amended.
Picas
Picas is a companion to our T>E>A>M and Ideas Beyond Formats initiatives with the aim of fostering engaged anti-racist practices from our clients, and supporters.
Acknowledgement
All clients are asked to provide a written acknowledgement of their stance on social justice issues, specifically the Black Lives Matter movement and LGTBQIA+ rights and Disabilty Justice, to make sure we are in alignment with their belief before taking on the project. We also ask what efforts they are currently making to address these issues, and how will they measure a visible and felt change in their policies within the next year.
A Choice
For non-institutional commissions (from companies or individuals) under $5,000, we give the client a choice. Either we set aside 10% of our payment for our Ideas Beyond Formats initiative or we donate 10% of our payment back to the client to go towards hiring a BIPOC+ identifying artist or designer for their next project. This payment is aimed at facilitating time to research an artist that meets that criteria. We will provide a list of recommendations if requested.
No Choice
For non-institutional commissions (from companies or individuals) over $5,000, we set aside 10% of our payment for our Ideas Beyond Formats initiative.
For institutional engagements such as lectures or visiting artists programs, we seek to insure that institutional lineups are representative of BIPOC+ and LGTBQIA+ identifying practitioners. If they are not, we will not accept the invitation/engagement and recommend practitioners that meet that criteria.
Input
Constructive criticism is valued and always welcome. Thank you for caring.
Disclaimer
We will be adapting and tweaking as things unfold and as things need to be amended.