It's Not About Me (2019)

It’s Not About Me (2019) is an exhibition that explores various modes of self-portraiture for seven female artists of color: Gabrielle Banks, Christy Hong, Mary Kuan, Zoe Scruggs, Rachel Tandon, Skye Volmar, and Michelle Woo. This title has several implications for the artists included: namely, self-portraiture’s ability to provide insight into how the experiences of an individual reflect the systems that guide and govern them. Additionally, the title is referent to the exclusion of women of color within the art world, spaces that rarely accommodate their experience. 

The artists in this exhibition use self portraiture as a way to express individual truths about the larger scape—whether through their like- ness, perspective, or hand. To counteract the exclusivity of gallery and museum spaces, this space functions as a tribute to our coun- tries, our lives and lived experiences, our friends, our loved ones, our collective and individual traumas, our obstacles, and our survival. It is about how we can all coexist in one space to lift one another up. This exhibition is called It’s Not About Me because, oftentimes, it is not about me. 

In this exhibition, it is about us. 

Written by Mary Kuan and Skye Volmar

Curated by Mary Kuan