Business as Usual is a set phrase used commonly in the business realm to manifest an ‘on going and unchanging state of affairs despite difficulties or disturbances’. Alberta adds a good deal of sarcasm on to it, humorously appropriates and reinterprets the tranquilising sentence to refer to the lethargic and stagnant nature of the art institutions governed by good intentions and mainly lack of commitment towards creating real spaces for diversity and inclusion within the arts. There seems to be an expectation that we have moved past these histories of colonialism, imperialism or even recent histories of genocide, or that we need to move past them because it makes people feel uncomfortable.
There may be moments dedicated to speaking about these “difficult” histories or creating gestures to consider a parity of representation within institutions and museums, but it feels facile, it can feel like a performance of sorts. Whereas what I’m hoping for is that we collectively become more involved in building institutional change through parrhesia [free speech], open discussions dedicated to reparatory justice, whatever that looks like for individuals or different communities.
The title Business as Usual, refers to this idea of what is happening every day, where there is no any real change happening.
There may be moments dedicated to speaking about these “difficult” histories or creating gestures to consider a parity of representation within institutions and museums, but it feels facile, it can feel like a performance of sorts. Whereas what I’m hoping for is that we collectively become more involved in building institutional change through parrhesia [free speech], open discussions dedicated to reparatory justice, whatever that looks like for individuals or different communities.
The title Business as Usual, refers to this idea of what is happening every day, where there is no any real change happening.