The Canadian BIPOC Artists Rolodex is a digital platform and living network that showcases the work of Black, Indigenous, People of Colour artists. We aim to nurture community and allyship by:
- linking BIPOC artists with each other, with curators and academics;
- raising artists’ visibility through our digital platform;
- deepening artistic, curatorial and critical projects.
Our Collective Vision:
The Canadian BIPOC Artists Rolodex envisions a representation of Canadian art history that rightfully positions the significance of Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour artists. Rooted in equity, reciprocity, and critical data practices, we challenge colonial systems of knowledge and representation by developing a curated digital platform and living network that fosters visibility, accessibility, and connectivity across historically marginalized groups. Through this ongoing and reparative platform we aim to rethink methodologies, reshape institutional practices, and contribute to the redefinition of Canadian art histories from the ground up.
Our Guiding Principles:
1. We are a community-informed, relational and consent-based network, which strives for ethical collaboration and connection.
2. Our initiative reflects a collective narrative that seeks to redress the exclusion and underrepresentation for BIPOC artists within the Canadian art historical context, while recognizing the varied and intersecting experiences within and among BIPOC individuals and communities.
3. We rely on time-honoured community mentorship and referrals to populate our living platform rather than the customary selection criteria approach.
4. Our approach to digital texts, images and all other forms of personal data collection is informed by an intersectional feminist approach to data management. We explicitly acknowledge the limitations and biases of our digital infrastructure, and we aim for consent-based, respectful reciprocity in metadata terminology and access protocols so that we can best adapt to the realities of the artists within our platform.
5. We prioritize thematic or formal narratives arising from artists’ work, rather than predetermined keywords and metadata categorization based on ethno-cultural heritage, which can result in the reinforcement of a ‘box checking’ approach to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
6. We dedicate time and space for BIPOC artists to be seen and heard and reduce administrative burdens by researching and writing entries for artists to review and approve. We respect artists’ labour and pay CARFAC fees for participation in our platform.
7. This project is conceived as a primary research tool to enable an ethical mode of engagement with BIPOC artists’ work.
Canadian BIPOC Artists Rolodex 