THE MAKING OF WE ARE HERE: VISIONARIES OF COLOR TRANSFORMING THE ART WORLD
I was living abroad when Jasmin Hernandez’s book We Are Here: Visionaries of Color Transforming the Art World hit shelves. The press release and the celebration around it immediately made me miss my art community in the U.S. and I couldn’t wait to go back home to kiss my mom and check all of my backed-up mail where a copy of We Are Here was waiting for me.
Jasmin, who I get to call a friend, interviewed 50 BIPOC and QTBIPOC artists and art workers in their respective studios, had them photographed and then gathered all of these words and photos into a gorgeous book. The artists and art workers featured in this book are based all over the U.S. and are descendants from places like Jamaica, Ecuador, Korea, Ghana, Dominican Republic, Honduras, and the Philippines — and that is just to name a few.
With the art world being prominently white and straight, We Are Here, with a foreword by Kasseem “Swizz Beatz” Dean, came strictly to disrupt by making all, if not most of the folks in the art world both open and change their minds about who and what they know an artist and art to be.
After sitting with the book for some time and enjoying it cover to cover, I had to hit up Jasmin for a full rundown on how, when, and why We Are Here was made and this is what she told us…
AMANDA SAVIÑÓN: Firstly, what does it feel like to be you today?
JASMIN HERNANDEZ: I feel hopeful and optimistic. I’ve been working incredibly hard with my head down for a few years now on a few things, and I really hope they come to fruition soon. I’m in my early forties, I don’t feel old, I feel young and capable because I still am.
AS: What was the very first spark of inspiration that came to you concerning the ideation of your first book, We Are Here: Visionaries of Color Transforming the Art World? Where were you? What did you hear? How were you feeling?
Photograph by Sunny Leerasanthanah
JH: For years, people had been planting the seed in my head that I should turn Gallery Gurls into a book, so that idea was always brewing, I just didn’t know how to execute it. In 2018, I connected with a non-fiction agent who instantly saw the potential of a Gallery Gurls-type book. I worked on the book proposal for two weeks. I didn’t even know how to make one. I was overwhelmed and very insecure about it. I even researched and found a book consultant who offered to create it for $1500. I was like, “What? Nah, absolutely not, I got this.” I submitted it to my agent, she shopped it around to several publishers, and three were instantly interested. When we approached Abrams, they were very interested and we easily found that we were the right match as author and publisher. They saw We Are Here as a book that fit into their existing family of book titles.
AS: What was the first step you took in making this happen?
JH: Confirming the two photographers, and being intentional about only working with Black and WOC. I was so blessed to find Sunny Leerasanthanah (NYC) and Jasmine Durhal (LA), who didn’t even know each other. Their work is seamless and fluid together throughout the book. Sunny has shot for Gallery Gurls, so it was organic to team up with her again! I had a long list of artists and art workers, my editor and I decided 50 was a strong robust number, and I pivoted from there. I then started doing outreach and confirmations. It was also important that as a Black Latinx cis-hetero author and writer, I looked beyond BIPOC cis-hetero subjects. That was key.
AS: Naturally, when we work on long projects we experience highs just as we do lows. What kept you going when the going got tough?
JH: I’m brutally tenacious and driven, but I’m learning to be patient, and work slow and easy. I don’t have to hustle and grind myself to death. Even though NYC is making you think otherwise. I intentionally left my career in media and editorial and worked in retail from 2018 to 2020, I needed easy hours and low commitment, to give my writing career a full shot. That was before I even had an agent. When I finally got an agent in 2018, and the book deal in 2019, my part-time retail gig was perfect. I’d confirm 5-6 subjects on my days off and start to piece the book together, shoot by shoot.
AS: Surely the experiences with these artists were special in the making of the book. What was your most memorable studio visit/interview and why?
JH: Too many to name, but some that stood out to me were Derek Fordjour’s and Firelei Báez’s studios in the Bronx. Shooting Kia LaBeija at Performance Space New York, she had an amazing rack of vibrant, fabulous looks for an upcoming performance in Performa in the fall of 2019. Hiba Schahbaz’s space in Brooklyn was sunny, warm, inviting, and mentally comforting.
AS: Before making the book you had a career as a photo editor in places like WENN, and New York Post how did those roles play into putting this book together?
Kia LaBeija during her residency at Performance Space New York in the East Village, New York City. Photograph by Sunny Leerasanthanah. © 2021 Jasmin Hernandez
JH: All those years of being a digital photo editor, visual editor, photo researcher, and photo producer sharpened and elevated my eye. I was looking for bright, punchy, visually-explosive shoots, with lots of color and texture. I wanted to capture unforgettable images of these artists and art workers, which we accomplished through Sunny’s and Jasmine’s spectacular lens. I had to coordinate and produce every single shoot, so all of those years of working on celebrity shoots really came in handy.
AS: What had been the biggest and most important lesson you learned from this project?
JH: No matter how herculean it was at times, to push past fifty shoots and write about fifty iconic artists and art workers, it was always going to be worth it. Culturally we live in a twenty-year cycle, we always look back twenty years, to pull inspiration, view from a newer lens, re-examine, etc. In the 2040s, I hope We Are Here achieves cultural relevance and can be a manifesto or playbook for Black and Brown folks in contemporary art, and creative arenas.
AS: Fellow Bronxite Kasseem “Swizz Beatz” Dean wrote the foreword for the book. Why was it important to include him?
JH: Swizz Beatz is a soldier for the culture and a Black hip-hop icon who loves and collects contemporary art. He was always my top choice because of his devotion and commitment to empowering and advocating for BIPOC artists. I also wanted a relatable voice for the foreword, not an academic or art historian. Academia isn’t my vibe, accessibility and reliability are. I’m familiar with the Dean Collection, but it was more Swizz Beatz’s connection to many of the artists and art workers in the book, he knows them, collects their work, and collaborates with them. When the book was presented to him, it felt like an organic fit.
AS: Amy Sherald said that the book is “a brilliant documentation of what is happening inside the artist studio” and I couldn’t agree more. What was it like to enter 50 different studios? I see that as having entered 50 different worlds…
JH: I’m FOREVER grateful that the Black art queen and icon, Amy Sherald, agreed to blurb We Are Here! I love your question too! Yes, it did feel like a sixty-minute journey into the artists’ worlds, since each shoot was about an hour or so. You’d see mood boards, reference boards, personal art books, materials for research, and upcoming deadlines pinned on boards. You really got a sense of the intensity and passion artists breathe into their work.
It was the art workers as well, like, Joeonna Bellorado-Samuels who have the most insane art collection and a really sophisticated and dope Brooklyn apartment, and Jasmine Wahi’s super beautiful, colorful, and eclectic Brooklyn apartment.
AS: As artists, we know when a piece is finished and when it needs a bit more time. When did you know the book was finished? How long did it take from conception to when the book hit the shelves?
JH: This book had a timeline of fifty or so shoots for 3 months. So it was crystal clear what the goal and deadline were. I got the book deal in January 2019, started shooting in the summer of 2019, and finished by November of 2019, right before the pandemic. Timing SAVED this book. If I’d planned to do these shoots in 2020 instead of 2019 there would be no book today. When the pandemic hit NYC in March 2020, the book had already been shot and written. I only had to edit and work from home. It was amazing timing! The release date got pushed from October 2020 to Feb 2021, which was also a gift, because I had more time to edit thoroughly and push the book to a stronger place.
AS: In the We Are Here introduction you said that this book is somewhat of a graduation for you and with Gallery Gurls approaching its 10 year anniversary, where do you currently see these two huge projects going in the future?
JH: I’d love to turn We Are Here into a series, so maybe a book 2 one day with Black NFT creators, more Black museum directors, more Black gallery owners, specifically more Black woman-owned galleries. I see an art docu-series in the future as well.
AS: What are your goals for the “art world” as a Latina, an author, a culture writer….
JH: As a Black Latina, first and foremost, my goal is to be for Black womxn, all Black womxn, and document us in all ways possible. I see myself storytelling beyond the “art world”, definitely fiction, and also more non-fiction, like essays and memoirs on Black Latina womxnhood. Lately, I’ve been thinking about documentary filmmaking, and maybe one day opening a bookstore in Harlem.
Devan Shimoyama in his Pittsburgh studio located on the Carnegie Mellon University campus. Photograph by Sunny Leerasanthanah. © 2021 Jasmin Hernandez
AS: What was the best piece of advice you received while (and about) making this book?
JH: I didn’t really receive this advice, I kind of just figured this out along the way, and went with my gut, but I realized I didn’t have to “fix my gaze” on just the traditional art world to include subjects in the book. Museums, galleries, cultural institutions – I could spotlight artists anywhere, in street art, graffiti, ballroom and voguing community, and the New York nightlife. It was very freeing to not remain limited to just the “art world.”
AS: What are you working on now? Anything you can share?
JH: Just doing the full-time freelance writing thing at the moment, and fleshing out some book ideas for the near future. Let’s see what happens!
AS: I read every single interview and noticed a few common questions across the book that I’d like to ask you right back:
AS: Describe yourself in three words.
JH: I’m. Always. Laughing.
AS: What is your favorite color?
JH: Purple, I’m OBSESSED. Always have been. I have a pair of purple suede Prada loafers and a purple Louis Vuitton Speedy bag that I’ve owned for nearly 15 years. The inside pages of We Are Here are purple, and so are Gallery Gurls’ branded colors and logo.
AS: What is your favorite fictional character?
JH: Pam from “Martin”, she was the ultimate baddie, she had the cutest fits, an amazing physique, hair was always on point, and could always read Martin for filth.
AS: When are you the happiest?
JH: In the Caribbean ocean and under a burning hot sun, with plenty of sunscreen of course.
Firelei Báez in her Bronx studio. Photograph by Sunny Leerasanthanah. © 2021 Jasmin Hernandez
AS: What kind of art world do you want to see in the future?
JH: For aging white cis art critics at marquee, prestigious media outlets to step aside in reviewing and writing about young Black and POC artists, curators, and cultural producers. Geriatric white people born during the Jim Crow era in the U.S. have zero tools to write about dynamic, young Black artists under the age of forty.
For white institutions and white art media to stop “performative centering” Black and POC folks during these “themed” ultra-capitalistic, history months like Black History Month, Latinx History Month, AAPI History Month, Pride Month, Native American History Month, etc. For non-Black Latinx curators and art professionals mobilizing and pushing for U.S. Latinx art, to actively include Black and Indigenous artists and art workers as well. For more Black-owned galleries and cultural spaces, specifically Black woman-owned art spaces, to open and thrive. For Black and POC artists who become mega-successful to stop seeking white validation, once they “make it.”
AS: Thank you for sharing!
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Cover: Courtesy of Abrams