From Struggle to Success - The Minority Experience and the Art Market - Report by Karashan Mansaray

Click to view Karashan's virtual art museum.

Throughout the semester participating in Professor Nordell’s “History of Art” course, my number one take away was the amount of opportunities art has to offer. In society, we are taught from an early age the traditional and simplistic workforce and job opportunities, but as time evolves, so does the workforce. Now we are lucky to live in a prominent time where careers and the workforce itself are as dynamic as ever. My virtual art museum primarily focused on the minority experience and its two sides of struggle and success. The cultures focused on specifically in my museum were the African American, Hispanic and Jewish cultures. Each of these respective groups has faced a tremendous number of trials and tribulations, but through these experiences created a newfound strength and versatility, allowing them to succeed despite the roadblocks in front of them. And for many of these individuals from these groups, it required them to think creatively of more creative ways to make a living and become successful in society.

 

Detail of Virtual Museum Wing - Struggle Art
At left: "Women with Boulders", 1945, George Mayer-Marton
At right: "The Hunted Slaves", Richard Andsell, 1861  Click on image to enlarge.

This creativity fostered many of the greatest artists known to society not only in America, but the world. This was their way of defying the odds of making it in the traditional world, by being able to not only tell a story of their specific journey, but also the journey of many people like them and from their culture. Aside from art just being a way to express yourself and your beliefs, there is also a business side to it. Being a “General Business” student, I have learned the different markets and companies that our world is filled with. Aside from the generic and simplistic markets, one of the biggest markets on the uprising is the arts market. This ranges from paintings, drawings, sculptures, and other forms of physical and electronic displays of art. According to The Business Research Company, “Arts Global Market Report”, January 2023,  “The global arts market grew from $441.02 billion in 2022 to $579.52 billion in 2023 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 31.4%.”  This number surprised me because it showed the powerful impact of the global art market.

Detail of Virtual Museum Wing - Success Art  
At left: Jacob Lawrence, "Migration Series", 1940-1941 
At right: Diego Rivera, "Man At Crossroads" / "Hombre en la Encrucijada", 1933

These ideas connect to my museum, because as I stated earlier, there was a time when people of color, immigrants and other specific groups, faced discrimination due to their ethnicity or background. This caused them to be at a disadvantage in society and in the business world financially. This caused many to become artists of all kinds, from music to stencil. My museum not only focuses on them, but how they created this art market with these famous and tremendous pieces of art. Many of the paintings in my museum were created by these people who revolutionized the business world, creating work so precise and beautiful it changed the world's market because everyone wanted to buy it. Now famous pieces of works are seen as stock, as they are bid on, collected, and continue to accrue value as time goes on. For example, one of the most expensive pieces of art in the world is listed at a price of 450 million dollars. Being a Business major, but also taking this course, allowed me to open and connect my degree with my creative side, seeing that there are a lot of markets of art that should be researched as a career to upcoming creative students. Click to view my museum and take your own perspective.