Our Renaissance: The World We Imagine
There are two worlds I can imagine after the crisis. The first is the world I fear. The second is the world that I hope for.
Truly Seen: The Value of Cultural Representation
Representation matters. It’s powerful to see yourself in the media, images, and icons that surround you. The more you see yourself, the more likely you are to see diverse stories about who you can be. Read 5 AAPI artists' insights and reflections on how we can expand representation in every field, and what it means to be truly seen.
SBA Disaster Loans and Emergency Grants, Artist’s Edition: What You Need to Know
Do artists qualify for the SBA disaster loan? More importantly, should artists apply? The short answer is yes. Here's what you need to know.
Spring is Here
When I was little, my dad would tell me about what it was like to be a child during China's Great Famine. He told me that he would eat ants off the ground for a brief sensation of what food tasted like, and laugh because in America I didn't have to do that. He always served me first when he cooked, and I wondered if I could ever do that, if being grown-up meant feeding other people first.
Jenie Gao Studio LLC Grand Opening + Gallery Night, photo by Bruce Fritz
Art + Small Business + Coronavirus, A Letter
The creative industry is at a standstill during the coronavirus quarantine. What does this mean for artists? And how can you support your local businesses?
5-Year Anniversary + New Studio Grand Opening
Come join me as we say, we are here to claim space. We are here to cultivate the role of the arts in a community's ecosystem. We are here to define a creative economy that works for all of us.
Art, an Ecosystem Indicator
If we want to talk about an economy as an ecosystem, then consider the arts and humanities as an "indicator." The US arts industry is 88% white, 12% people of color, and almost entirely men regardless of race. Women of color represent half of one percent of arts representation. The arts and humanities are where culture-making happens. So is it much of a surprise that we struggle with a diverse business ecosystem, the same way we struggle with biodiversity in nature when the primary infrastructure is centered on supporting a monoculture lawn?
Solo show by Jenie Gao, Diane Endres Ballweg Gallery at Madison Central Library.
Uncommon Ground
From personal to professional to political spaces, I have paid attention to disputes between people who plead for common ground yet gloss over perspectives and leave issues unresolved. I have wondered that if instead of common ground, we should advocate and claim space for identities and representations that are rare.
Spiders, Feminism, and Unlearning Irrational Fears
As a child, I was afraid of spiders. I was one of those girls who ran away at the sight of any creepy crawly bug that was not either a ladybug, butterfly, or roly poly. I didn't see the irony or hypocrisy of my fear, as a girl who got called boyish, called out for being too rough, too temperamental, too strong, too aggressive for my sex.
Rest and Rejuvenation, Private Mural Commission for Mary Burke. Photo by Jenie Gao.
Landmarks Through the Seasons
Maybe the most magical thing about outdoor works of art is how they not only change their environments, but also transform with the seasons. Though the Midwest got hit with…