Do You Belong
On the occasion of our first program in New York with New Art Dealers Alliance (NADA) in May 2023, poet and artist Arsimmer McCoy and designers Mariana Pariani and Sebastiàn Gagin helped us talk about access, belonging, and barriers to entry in the art world.
Over the years, we’ve seen how navigating an art fair—let alone asking about the availability or price of a work—can be a confusing process. Arsimmer’s poem, designed here as a playful infographic, was originally written from the perspective of the artist. In reading through the different pathways, however, we realize that this journey applies to any one of us.
Do You Belong is about dismantling the notion that we are only capable of being one thing. We are composed of many ancestral hearts and minds. We should feel comfortable telling our stories in any way we deem necessary. Your discomfort lies only in doubt. How do we know that we belong? What do your heart, hands, and voice say about it? If they all agree that this is what you want and this is where you want to be, who can tell you otherwise?
— Arsimmer McCoy, poet and artist
HIGHLIGHTS FROM OUR GUIDED TOUR AT NADA NY 2023
Bradley Ertaskiran Gallery, Montreal, Canada
- Join us in Montreal from July 5—9 for an art trip in the city and the Montreal International Jazz Festival
Charles Moffett Gallery, New York, U.S.
- Article on supporting under-appreciated and underrepresented artists
Dale Zine, Miami, U.S.
- Featuring Commissioner Season One Artist Kelly Breez
Embajada, San Juan, P.R.
- Maria “Lulu” Varona and Cheveli Sifre
G Gallery, Seoul, Korea
Hannah Traore Gallery, New York, U.S.
- New works by Anya Paintsil to follow in a gallery exhibition
ILY2, Portland, U.S.
- More about artist Sidony O’Neal
JDJ Gallery, New York, U.S.
- Dubbed the Ice House, visit their outpost in Garrison
Misako & Rosen, Tokyo, Japan
Reyes | Finn, Detroit, U.S.
- Ambitious and bold program centers Detroit artists
Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop, New York, U.S.
- Sign up for their art classes
Shulamit Nazarian Gallery, Los Angeles, U.S.
Superhouse Gallery, New York, U.S.
- We love Paa Joe, learn more about the legendary funeral processions
Volume Gallery, Chicago, U.S.
- Shoutout in WSJ, read more here
Learn more about NADA NY on the website at newartdealers.org.
Commissioner team members and tour guests gather in front of the work of Wendy White at NADA New York on May 19, 2023. Photo by Gregory Pierre-Louis.