In the world of art and technology, Black creators have long grappled with systemic disadvantages, encountering underfunding and a lack of visibility in areas dominated by wealth and privilege.
However, creative technologist artists like LaJuné McMillian are proving artists of color can tackle barriers with the support of Black Public Media (BPM), a Harlem-based national arts nonprofit. BPM brought artists like McMillian to Washington, D.C., from Nov. 16–17 to participate in CulturalDC’s annual showcase, “Torrents: New Links to Black Futures.”
For McMillian, the journey of creating tech-driven art has often been isolating, with few opportunities to connect with peers navigating the same challenges.
“There are not many spaces like Black Public Media that help artists, especially artists working in immersive spaces, to not only just create and make work, but also to build community amongst each other,” she said. “I think it’s really important for Black folks to have their own spaces, to convene, to work together, to share information, and to just learn together and grow together.”
McMillian also said navigating scarce funding opportunities and limited access to cutting-edge resources in an art world slow to embrace new forms of storytelling is “hard,” but art leaders have made it easier to have these conversations.
“One thing that I found really beautiful was just the transparency about [the need for money], like through a lot of the different parts of the festival,” McMillian said. “Lisa [Osborne, BPM’s director of emerging media] was very upfront. She said, ‘Hey, these creatives need funding. These creatives need resources.’ Oftentimes, in spaces like these, those conversations are not as transparent and not as clear.”
According to a report from the New York Times, “American museums are rewriting the history of 20th-century art to include Black artists.” However, despite these efforts, artists in the 21st century continue to confront significant obstacles in launching their careers, according to McMillian. She said her art can sometimes take years to complete because she needs access to specific tools, but that she’s circumventing the obstacles.
“Oftentimes, one institution might have one set of tools and resources, and another institution may have another set of tools and resources,” she said. “It’s finding ways and pathways to bridge these alliances, so that these projects can actually get made, because it’s been a lot of figuring it out; it’s been very do it yourself — DIY, which is really difficult.”
Osborne sees BPM’s mission as part of a larger effort to address systemic inequities in how resources are distributed in the arts and tech industries.
“For decades, tech training, grants, and other opportunities have been funneled into the hands of a few, essentially imprinting biases that exist in old or traditional media onto new storytelling tools, long before they gain mass adoption,” Osborne said in a statement.
Osborne also said in her statement that the BPMplus programs seek to combat the widespread tendency toward exclusion in technology, film, arts, and philanthropic, ultimately contributing to a future where all communities are represented.
McMillian’s work “The Portal’s Keeper—Origins,” which was shown in D.C., features digitally rendered avatars created with motion capture and 3D technology, engaging in prayers of healing and gratitude. The avatars promote philosophies and prayers that seek to offer aid — “Black children trying to find their way home,” an example of the kind of innovative storytelling that BPM is determined to elevate.
Even in the face of adversity, McMillian, an artist who uses Unreal Engine, a video game tool, for her work, urged artists not to let obstacles deter them.
“Resources and community — it’s always out there, and it’s always going to be; there’s always a way forward, so just hang in there and don’t stop making art,” she said.