Lisa Myers Bulmash 2/7/20 Lisa Myers Bulmash 2/7/20

Know your history through collage

Maybe you don’t know much about history. Let’s fix that — in a fun way — by making art that links you to your family history.

Tomorrow I’m leading the first of two Family-Focused Collage Workshops. Meet me at the Woodinville Library at 1pm, and we’ll make a palm-sized collage about one of your relatives. Can’t make it to this event? Join me next Friday at the Duvall Library instead. These workshops are part of the King County Library System’s dive into Black history and futures.

*A workshop student adds to her collage about her mother*

It’s said you can’t know where you’re going if you don’t know where you’ve been. Why not borrow a book or three from the library that illuminates history through a Black lens? That way, you can connect your history to Black history, and see where it might lead you in the future.

Lisa Myers Bulmash 2/1/19 Lisa Myers Bulmash 2/1/19

In my studio: Black history, black futures

Dear America:

I’m gonna need you to up your history game to include the stories of all our people, and not just in history books. (But really: you need to do better with schoolchildren’s history books. Those things are awful.) You don’t even have to look far for material. For example: Did you even know you owned this photo, America?

*Children at a White House Easter egg roll, 1923. Credit: Library of Congress*

It’s in the Library of Congress, that big ol’ hoard of your favorite images and documents. I laughed out loud when I first discovered the image — I mean, that’s some EPIC (probably unintentional) side-eye!

And then I sighed. This photo and its original title — “A study in black and white snaped [sic] at the White House today” — say everything and nothing at all about America in 1923. Like a lot of American history and culture. A wink-wink-nudge-nudge title that implies racial tension, and almost no explanation for why that might be so.

During Black History/Black Futures Month, I’m going to assign my own interpretation of what’s going on in this photo. I think the gaps in our stories are directly responsible for the way we treat each other. Realistically, I know those gaping holes will continue to exist for… God only knows how long. But if anyone else is trying to fill the holes and make things right, well, the collages I plan to make are for you.

Lisa Myers Bulmash 10/26/18 Lisa Myers Bulmash 10/26/18

On asking artists to speak at your event

I know we haven’t even gotten to Halloween yet, but I’ve been thinking about January and February 2019. It reminded me of a hilarious comment I heard during an art event:

This person receives tons of last-minute requests to speak at this Black History Month event, or make a presentation at that Martin Luther King Jr. Day gathering. In one sentence, the person made several points:

I am available for (paid) speaking engagements all year round, not just in January or February
Please don’t wait until a week or two before your event to invite me to speak
I am perfectly capable of speaking about topics other than being a person of African descent

I’m not nearly as well known as that person I quoted, but I was invited to speak at five events during January and February 2018. I accepted four of those invitations.

*Me speaking at North Seattle College, with artists Gabrielle Nomura Gainor, Elisheba Johnson & Tariqa Waters*

Know why I turned down the fifth event? Because the organizer waited until mid-February to ask, and was hoping to compensate me in “exposure” to potential art collectors. Maybe I would’ve said yes anyway… but I was a little busy with events related to my museum show, and curating a group art exhibit.

So here’s your take-away, if you’re going to invite an artist to speak at your event: Ask early, and offer tangible compensation for their time. Even gas money or social media love is better than “exposure.” And yes, now would be a good time to book me for MLK Day or Black History Month 2019.