Letter From The Editor: Holding Space

By Adrianne Ramsey

While art spaces have been able to operate regularly for about two years now, an important question that they had to ponder for over a year was, “How can we safely bring communities together again for in-person viewing?” The roles that community and space have played in our lives have definitely been upended due to the COVID-19 global pandemic, when public art took on greater meaning and importance. Art in the public sphere is one of the most important forums to provide healing, especially during fractured and scary times. Public art creates a sense of community by adding color, texture, and vibrancy to public spaces, thus giving us something to contemplate and talk about in our communities without demanding monetary exchange. So much of what we consider prized and sacred is behind closed doors, with what can amount to restricted access. Art in museums and galleries can hold a certain amount of criticism, but public art is outside and for all, and speaks to our needs to engage with our surroundings. It is for everyone to enjoy, discover, and share, whether it’s a community garden, a zine making workshop, or a postcard project. Art can be creating a connection with someone, encouraging them to step outside of their comfort zone, and participate in an impactful project; it is not solely mutable objects. By creating an issue that highlights art in the public sphere and social practice, I hope to showcase the intertwining's of art and human participation. While we have now settled into a “new normal”, the impacts of distance and seclusion and the temporary loss of social gatherings and community events will last for a while. I am curating an upcoming group exhibition, Rabbit Hole (August –September 2023), for the Berkeley Art Center that looks at how artists consider space, and am excited that there are more conversations about how artists utilize sites and maintain a sense of community within their practices. I would like to thank Anna, Christine, Elena, and jackie for participating in this issue and speaking at length about their creative contributions to social practice. GIRLS 18 takes its title from a diptych stack by Felix Gonzalez-Torres, with each stack containing an alternating line of text: “Somewhere better than this place / Nowhere better than this place”, thus speaking to the larger journey that we are all on: just trying to find our place in the world.