Benefits Package (2020)

Project made in collaboration with Co-Directors of Holding Contemporary Iris Williamson and Tiffany Harker with contributions from the Shareholder Participation Committee - Leslie Hickey, Paula Wilson, Raul J. Mendez, and Heather Watkins, Holding Contemporary, Portland, Oregon

HOLDING Contemporary presented Benefits Package, a project and publication that examines privilege, power distribution, and exchange within the art world. Using HOLDING Contemporary as the subject, I acted as “auditor” of HOLDING Contemporary, collecting information from gallery Shareholders in interviews, surveys, digitally-aided conversations, and mailed correspondence. Through this project, I investigated the commercial art gallery as a model and who it serves, and more broadly I posed questions surrounding community desires and what an ideal art space could be.

We hosted a book launch for the publication, Shareholder Handbook 2020, on July 16 at 5pm PT / 8pm ET on Zoom. Conversations and questions within the event considered bigger issues around power, privilege, and transparency in the art world. I compiled the contents of the book in collaboration with the Shareholder Participation Committee consisting of four shareholders: Leslie Hickey, Paula Wilson, Heather Watkins, and Raul J. Mendez, and early project conversations with gallery Directors Tiff Harker and Iris Williamson. I designed the publication using Nasdaq’s brand guidelines for their online identity. Special thanks to The Ford Family Foundation, Portland Institute for Contemporary Art, and Portland State University for financial support. Hopefully this book can be a valuable tool/approach to a changing arts ecosystem in Oregon and beyond.

Shareholder Handbook 2020, publication available for purchase here. Contact me to get a PDF of the publication.