BIPOC Initiative
Art call for the for the bipoc initiative
The Freeport Art Museum has begun an art call for the BIPOC initiative to search for artists who would like to participate. Answering this call does not guarantee you will be selected, though it will make the selecting artist and the museum aware of your work. The only qualification is that you self-identify as a BIPOC artist - Black, Indigenous, Person of Color. Please fill out t he form to the left to register for the BIPOC Initiative. If you have any questions please email Barry Treu at btreu@freeportartmuseum.org
About the Bipoc initiative
October 23rd of 2021 marked the opening date for two solo exhibitions under the umbrella of the Freeport Art Museum’s (FAM) Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) Initiative. This initiative aims to encourage artists and patrons of color to view FAM as a welcoming venue for artists of color to exhibit their work. Moreover, the initiative seeks to develop an improved relationship with the broader BIPOC community so that a more socially inclusive and diverse audience embraces FAM as their museum. FAM’s goal is to create an environment where the BIPOC community participates in programs and activities, broadens the art exhibited in ways that establish social and racial equity, and shares our diverse community's knowledge and contributions. Over the next five years, two solo shows per year will be awarded to artists of color selected by artists of color. This systemic change aims to help center Native American personhood, address anti-Blackness, dismantle white supremacy, and advance racial justice.
The inaugural BIPOC artist to exhibit work this year is Patrick Earl Hammie. Hammie co-authored the BIPOC initiative in partnership with the Freeport Art Museum and selected the second artist, Milwaukee-based Tyanna J. Buie, to show concurrently in an adjacent gallery. Each artist created new work to install in FAM’s main galleries this October. Buie will select the artist for the following year, establishing the succession of artists for the series. The guiding principle will be that all chosen artists self-identify as BIPOC.