Faithfully funding the future of Black art

Sacramento-based Black Artist Foundry (Black AF) grants funds to artists nationwide.

By Katerina Graziosi

Faith J. McKinnie knew the exact color palette she wanted her bedroom when she was 6-years-old: bright yellow — to rival her sister’s sun-drenched room — with accents of teal and pink. The Alabama native has always had a proclivity for aesthetic, having grown up in South Sacramento in an art-filled house and exposed to the works of contemporary Black artists like Jacob Lawrence, Faith Ringgold and Barkley L. Hendricks from an early age.

Yet the 40-year-old multi-hyphenate did not consider herself an artist until recently.

“I’ve always been really curious about design thinking and how images and visual communication impact our personal and public lives.” McKinnie said, adding that she’s newly started using designer in her title. “At that age, I didn’t equate it to being a creative.”

Now, the curator and designer is the founding director of the Sacramento-based Black Artist Foundry (BAF or Black AF), a nonprofit organization working to support and center Black creatives by providing funds and access to resources while addressing systemic barriers and serving as a conduit for community and collaboration.

“I was compelled at a very young age to prioritize and advocate for Black artists,” McKinnie said, adding that her resolution became even stronger while earning her art history degree from Arizona State University. “I realized that my peers, both Black and white, were inherently undervaluing and under recognizing Black art.”

Founded in the summer of 2020, amid an intensifying pandemic and the murder of George Floyd reigniting waves of protests against the systemic and institutional injustices perpetuated by police and government agenc ies against communities of color, McKinnie said she and a handful of other Black artists created the formerly named Black Artist Fund – a GoFund Me page intended to get funds into the hands of artists, fast.

“All artists were impacted by Covid,” McKinnie said. “The loss of commissions, exhibitions, events, sales, collaboration, all those losses are endless, but I knew that this would most certainly deeply impact Black artists as they’re already facing these challenges in the region and across the country before the pandemic.”

McKinnie said that the opportunity for further growth, support and collaboration with Black artists became clear.

“I totally went at this not thinking about building an organization,” McKinnie said, adding that she was overwhelmed by the support of the community. “We raised $10,000 in the first 72 hours.”

With three rounds of funding to-date, through small grants and community donations, the organization has awarded $76,125 to over 100 Black artists across the country, with awards ranging from $250 to $2,000 of unrestricted funds. McKinnie said that although Sacramento artists were the focus of grants, the awards were extended to any Black artist nationwide and that a variety of creatives from nail techs to YouTube creators have applied.

“Just identify as Black,” McKinnie said about the qualifications for an artist to be a candidate for funds. “You’re a Black creative… It’s just that simple.”

McKinnie, who previously worked as the community engagement coordinator for the Crocker Art Museum, said feeling the weight of advocacy work to bring awareness to the predominantly white institution about its systemic and bureaucratic practices disadvantaging artists of color took a toll on her and she chose to withdraw her affiliation in 2021.

She said it is important to not perpetuate the barriers to entry for artists of color when building new systems of support.

“I think we continue to recreate these systems that don’t work for our communities,” McKinnie said about intentionally creating a straightfor- ward approach to BAF’s grant applications, adding that large grantmakers often require lengthy dissertations or have complicated submission processes.

Joha Harrison, a mixed media artist and inaugural 2020 BAF recipient, recalls a direct process to being awarded funds.

“I made sure I was eligible [and] filled out an application,” Harrison wrote in an email. “[I] went through the decision making process and was awarded.”

Harrison, also one of this year’s chosen artists to display art in collaboration with the Sacramento Kings during Black History Month, said being a grantee helped propel his career.

“Being a recipient of the Black Artist Foundry awards was instrumental in my development and progression,” Harrison wrote. “It gave me confidence knowing that someone believed in me and my art.”

McKinnie said that although the foundry does not currently have a grant cycle open, one of the ways BAF continues to sustain engagement is through its online directory of artists.

“Put yourself on the registry and let people come find you,” McKinnie said, adding that the directory is for artists of all mediums and levels and serves as a networking platform for anyone looking to collaborate with a Black artist. “[It’s] something we haven’t had in Sacramento for any artists, not just Black artists, there’s not this database for that.”

But McKinnie said that the ability for artists to thrive does not happen in a vacuum and that community engagement is key.

“Support your local Black artists,” McKinnie said. “Buy a work from a Black artist, go to a show to support, contribute to what they’re creating because really, that’s what Black Artists Foundry is all about.”

AfriCOBRA is a collective of artists who formed in Chicago, 1968. The name stands for African Commune of Bad Relevant Artists, it was founded by artists Jeff Donaldson, Wadsworth Jarrell, Barbara Jones-Hogu, and Gerald Williams. According to Jones-Hogu, “AfriCOBRA aimed to share with the African-American community the truth and beauty of black self-identity.”

The collective of AfriCOBRA sought to push the boundaries of what modern art looks like through the lenses of African American culture, a view point that hadn’t been widely recognized in the mainstream media and art scene at the time. Even more remarkable, the collective of AfriCOBRA successfully created a platform that allowed melanated artists to freely express themselves on the issues of race, identity, and social justice.

Art wasn’t the only form of expression during this unique revolutionary time. A variety of media including painting, sculpture, photography and performance art was created to promote social change. Ultimately, shedding light on issues like racism and police brutality, while also highlighting the strength and soul within black culture.

AFRICOBRA held its exhibitions in three of Chicago’s South Side institutions: The South Side Community Art Center, the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts at the University of Chicago, and The DuSable Museum of African American History. However, the first exhibition was held at the Studio Museum in Harlem, 1970— it was called AfriCOBRA.

Following the first show AfriCOBRA captured the attention of black artists. One of the most prominent and admirable artists was Wadsworth Jarrell was born in Albany, Georgia and studied at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He is credited with assisting on the Wall of Respect, a mural that was created in 1968 to raise awareness about racial inequality and injustice. It features images of prominent African Americans and also includes words from Black Power movement leaders such as Stokely Carmichael, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King Jr. Jarrell says that he wants to make art that “reflects our own lives and our own experiences.”