A Note From the Leads

A note from the leads:

Creative Autonomy - What can such an activity mean to a creative of colour?

The nucleus for ‘collective imagination’, Art Directors work tirelessly to curate a global ‘Unity of Vision’ and are ultimately responsible for solidifying the curatorial demands of modern aestheticism, whilst resolving several conflicting agendas between the various intersections.

The binding power between how various elements communicate visually, stimulates moods and psychologically appeals to a target audience, undeniably so, one of the greatest difficulties that art directors face is how best to manifest desired cultural symbols, messages, concepts, and ideas into imagery that - in order to thrive - now have to translate on a global stage. Perhaps then, in this current political climate, with what feels to be an ever-unfolding visual narrative of creative output that can be experienced both online and IRL, in many respects it is this unique kind concentration of artistic energy that becomes one of the truest forms of autonomy.

Prof. Deborah Gabriel in the introduction to ‘Inside the Ivory Tower: Narratives of Women of Colour surviving and thriving in British Academia’ (2017) explored the idea of ‘sites of resistance’ (p.1). To this end, the activity of ‘collaboration’ in order to ‘build solidarity and engage in collective activism; to develop strategies (collectively) to overcome exclusion and marginalisation; to explore and articulate our own experience through counter-narratives’ (ibid.) becomes a key provocation of creative autonomy.

Even in vitality of creatives of colour successfully carving out the space for intersectional narratives to emerge, what are the ways in which art direction can, and chooses to, engage with public discourse - in the creation of (capitalist) cultural products - and what are its social responsibilities?

Similarly then, we must ask who are such cultural products accountable to?

In combining all the narrative elements, - if we are to wholly accept that ‘autonomy serves as a normative foundational principle for the creation of (capitalist) cultural products‘ - within spaces that continued to be dominated by whiteness and patriarchy, characterised in no less uncertain terms by the global digital landscape - capturing the nuances of authentic, lived experiences by pushing the boundaries of visual representation into the mainstream becomes much more than the act of championing the narratives of the other by creatives of colour.

For this single mission - of engendering the visibility of cultural narratives - it is not only Art Directors who take on this role; all creatives of colour begin upon a journey of collective betterment - in a wider discussion of perceived hypervisibility - in which artist autonomy (essentially, the right to self govern, thus imbuing personal narratives and defining the trajectory of their own creative practice) centres activism as a means of liberation.

But what, I must ask, what will the future of art direction look like in the everchanging digital landscape? The duality of the ‘assertion of meaning’ and ‘struggles for coherence” become just another means to explore the narrative richness of shared histories - to this end, I do not mean the familiar discussion of collective, experiential racial and gendered oppression, but the liberatory movements and activities that result from Black Joy; an unapologetic and joyous outcome of creative autonomy, how can and does the global cultural market continue to encourage such stories?

In my constant use of the title ‘Art Director’, my aim is not to categorise the singularity of this role in relation to activism and autonomy, but to delineate the type of activities who form the impetus, power and energy behind the creation of such precious cultural goods. Moving forwards to a consideration of autonomy in a commercial context, can the monetary commodification of such cultural products be an appropriate valuation to goods already under attack?

There are, in my mind, an endless number of leaders in the sector who illustrate the unique vitality, universality and popularity of goods from creatives of colour in the West - Virgil Abloh (Louis Vuitton’s Menswear, Artistic Director, March 2018), Edward Enninful (Editor-in-Chief of British Vogue Magazine), Ibrahim Kamara (Vogue, Stylist/Fashion Influencer), and Jenn Nkiru (Artist/Filmmaker & Director, Vogue/The Carters) - all of whom have spearheaded black culture into the mainstream aesthetic; as a kind of universal popular culture.

From Childish Gambino’s This is America (2018) which explored the unique politić of black and brown bodies, to films such as Moonlight (Jenkins, 2016) and Get Out (Peele, 2017) that popularised the roaring potential of black cinema, in this respect, discourse surrounding the function - and need for protection and preservation - maintains itself in the discussion of the authenticity of such cultural currency.

I suppose, that in leading a investigation such as this, I similarly wanted to curate a document that could contribute this this unfolding visual narrative? To tell the story of just a few of the talented and generous creatives who have chosen to participate within this document, it fundamentally becomes a question of ‘power’ and what this represents in the activity of storytelling.

Salute.

Bee Smith & Rayvenn Shaleigha D’Clark.

Key questions:

1. Does the creative industries cater for intersectional narratives?

2. How can we explore social justice within the art direction sector?

3. What is the future of Art Direction in the global digital landscape?

4. Does art direction help show the authentic self? (Does Art direction aid Authenticity?)

5. How can academia prepare an ethical art director?

6. How does art direction engage with the public and what are its social responsibilities?

7. How does diversity play a role in art direction?

8. Can art direction be used as a tool for activism?

9. What is the importance of art directors within activism?

10. Can female art directors/artists/creatives contribute to movements such as ‘MeToo?’

11. What does autonomy look like in the commercial context?

12. How can we explore social justice within the art direction sector?

13. How can we preserve and protect marginal voices within art?

14. What does representation and discrimination within art/ creative direction industry roles look like?

15. How does academia play a role in art direction?

16. How does art direction contribute to popular culture?

17. How can visual art continue to contribute to culture?

18. Does art direction aid authenticity?

19. Can race and culture inform the future of art direction?

20. How can academia prepare an ethical art director?

21. Can & how does ‘whiteness’ take advantage of marginalised storytelling?

22. What are some of the ways art directors can serve the call for social justice?

23. How can art direction fit into wider sectors than “the arts?”

24. What does ‘power’ represent in the context of art direction?