Painting makes life better

The three of us that are working with the Ngecha Artist Association went to their studio yesterday for our first day of collaborative painting. It was so much fun! They had prepared two canvases and the two themes are 1) building bridges between Kenya and Seattle and 2) the role of human rights in communities. I was assigned to paint skyscrapers (although I was not skilled enough to outline the windows!) and then dirt. And I was instructed for the first time how to accurately hold a paintbrush. Good to know! Although the pictures shown here are before I learned the correct way.

We will be taking anywhere from 50-100 pieces back with us to Seattle in order to exhibit and sell them. We looked through almost all their works and selected styles that we think would be most appealing to the Seattle crowd. When we return in a few days, the artists will have selected pieces from similar styles and have them all labeled (artist name, price, title) for us to transport. We are limiting the larger pieces, but happy to take many smaller pieces.

As we were selecting pieces, I was struck by how amazing it is that these artists even trust us to do something like this. I mean, who are we, three UW women, to be entrusted with their work and have the knowledge to make such decisions? While I certainly have an interest in art (although I kept laughing that I was a musician that didn't know how to hold a paintbrush), I am in no way qualified to do what I am doing other than I want to and have approached them with the possibility of visibility and a new market that would has never been otherwise offered to them. Is this an instance of white privilege? I think so, but really trying to use it to support incredible people.