Update (8/1/2022)
This residency is still operating (it canceled residencies in 2021). It is currently funded by the Julia Terr fellowship (a gift from artist Vince Montague, who attended the residency in 2020 after me). I had expressed my concerns to Vince in 2021 in an Instagram post which he deleted. I believe he deleted the post because I asked about specific actions that would ensure BIPOC safety, given his expressed intent to support BIPOC artists. As he could not guarantee any action that had been taken to address safety (or seem to respond to my questions in general), he removed the post. Note: I took screen captures of this publicly shared post before it was deleted and can share upon request NOT to continue the tête-à-tête but to prove that an attempt at conversation took place.
The artist community is small and there aren’t a lot of resources. I understand why someone may still take this residency given the hope that things have changed. I personally reached out to someone I knew who is currently a resident, and feel I’ve done my best to share the information that I wish I knew before attending this residency. Long story short: I greatly appreciate everyone who believes/d in me.
Why am I writing this? I felt it important to speak out about my experiences because I had the resources (time and energy) to do so. As a cishet, East Asian, able-bodied middle-class woman, I could use my privileged position to make my point-of-view about diversity heard. By no means did I enjoy the conversation, but I always believe that I have the right to express myself and speak up - especially when the prevailing stereotype in the U.S. is that Asians/Asian-Americans don’t.
The State Parks lack diversity (women and minorities) on their staff. My experiences, however minimal, revealed the extent to which work still needs to be done in local and government organizations to achieve awareness, inclusion and equitability (see below).
Real-life experiences are not hypothetical situations that can be responded to with mere sorries. Accountable actions need to occur. Ideally, residencies should happen in safe environments surrounded by supportive and empowering staff.
Again, thank you for reading this and for everyone who pitched in to sign my petition, make a phone call or support me in my efforts to make this issue known.
Update (3/28/2021)
Thank you for all your shares, posts and messages asking how you can support. You may:
OR contact Stewards and State Parks directly:
Michele Luna, Executive Director of the Stewards of Coast and Redwoods, at michele@stewardscr.org or (707) 869-9177 Ext: 4
Damien Jones (Shana’s direct Supervisor), contact forthcoming
Loren Rex, Public Safety Superintendent at Loren.Rex@parks.ca.gov or 707-937-3118
Mike Lair, Russian River Superintendent at mike.lair@parks.ca.gov or (707) 865-3121
Terry Bertels, District Superintendent, CA State Parks at terry.bertels@parks.ca.gov or (707) 937-2507
In light of the recent mass shooting in Atlanta, an act of domestic terrorism & white supremacy that claimed the lives of 8 people, including six women of Asian descent, I want to share my experience of anti-Asian harassment and discrimination since the pandemic.
On July 25, 2020, while I was completing the last week of an artist residency at Pond Farm Studio, I was harassed and intimidated by a state park ranger named Shana Gibbs. This was shortly after George Floyd’s murder and one day after I invited a team of Black and Brown creatives into Armstrong Redwoods State Preserve for an art installation.
Shana had received emails that notified all respective State Park and Steward personnel of my residency, including my car make and model, which was parked in the driveway (visible from the road). She also drove by the site almost every day. Yet when I was walking on its premises the morning of July 25, 2020, she drove down the road and used the loudspeaker to tell me to "Get off state property.” After increased attempts at intimidation, it wasn’t until she stopped her car and heard me say that I am the artist that she finally left without an apology.
Knowing that State Park rangers have access to firearms and defensive gear like the police, I felt incredibly unsafe and shared my concerns in a written statement and remediation plan with the Stewards (who run the residency). In the follow-up meeting including myself, Michele Luna (executive director of the Stewards) and Loren Rex and Mike Lair (State Park Superintendents), I was asked to explain why I thought the event was racialized instead of discussing the steps in my remediation plan. Note: I read it aloud, but none of the points were addressed specifically.
Without the support of Michelle Mansour (executive director of Root Division, my studio organization) and Kimmie Barbosa (former DEI co-chair for the Stewards), who provided ally-ship by attending the meeting, I do not know if I would have felt safe to speak my truth.
The apology letters from Luna and Bertels have yet to materialize into actionable steps for ensuring safety. Furthermore, they asked me to continue to provide free labor for a structural problem that stems from the lack of diverse and inclusive leadership, mindset and intent in their own institutions.
Recently, I became aware of prior aggressions towards women of color from the Stewards, including a State Park harassment that resembled mine. Some of these events go back over a decade. See these statements from the Stewards second DEI meeting (almost a year from the first) that were compiled by April Reza.
It is clear that it is more convenient for the Stewards and State Parks to sweep issues under the rug than to establish preventable steps to ensure the safety of future artists. They will tokenize us for our diversity and ask for free labor, but do nothing tangible to guarantee basic safety for our lives. They will continue to kick the can down the road until something truly horrific happens.
Please share my statement with your communities to let them know that the Pond Farm residency, as it stands, is not safe for any BIPOC. It was not easy to speak up (it took me almost a year), but this I know: While there are always voices that will tell us we don’t belong, there are many, many more who are willing to stand with us to say what’s not right.
All supporting documentation can be reviewed by clicking the button below.