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I began drafting this very belated resolution response while sitting at JFK on
January 21st feeling frustrated and sad that I was missing the Women's March
due to work travel. Waiting at the airport I took comfort in witnessing
incredible moments from the marches in D.C., NYC, Ithaca, and so many other
cities and towns through my Instagram feed. A week later, I finished this
response while flying back to JFK, overwhelmed with feelings of heartbreak and
anger, but also great admiration for everyone who had taken action since last
Friday to resist Trump's inhumane and horrid actions to ban Muslims and
refugees. It was a very hard week to be out of the country while there was such
an urgent need for action.
In my job as a university curator, I occupy a position of privilege that
provides me access to a physical public space and to the opportunity to create
exhibitions and programming. Since the election, I have been acutely aware of
this privilege and the responsibility and necessity to hold myself and the
institution I work for up for critique. We need to invite conversations by a
multiplicity of voices in order to enact our mission statement and put words
into actions—providing an inclusive space for dialogue for the diverse
community of Hunter College, the City of New York, and beyond. To help me stay
mindful and present and to channel my anxiety and fear into action, I have
created a list of resolutions for myself.
I will...
speak up and resist.
speak out against injustice.
acknowledge my privilege.
open myself to difficult conversations.
welcome critique.
demand we do better for artists, for our students, for our neighbors, for the
city to create exhibitions and programs that are inclusive.
foster a safe space and work to make the gallery a sanctuary.
pay artists, writers, critics, and all cultural workers for their labor.
listen.
learn to know when to be quiet.
practice compassion.
be loving.
And I will remember to breathe.
Sarah Watson
Director of Exhibitions & Chief Curator
Hunter College Art Galleries
695 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10065
s...@hunter.cuny.edu
212-772-4991
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