The media.

How to Support and Celebrate Living Artists

Legendary hip-hop producer Swizz Beatz is on a mission to revolutionize the way artists do business. In this glorious talk, he shares some of the ways he's helping fellow creatives thrive. "If we're not protecting the arts, we're not protecting our future," he says. After the talk, join our host Modupe in conversation with art world expert Alexandra Giniger as they discuss the importance of supporting living artists.

OUR STORIES. IN MULTITUDES. Alexandra Giniger, Gallerist.

“After working in Wangechi’s studio for almost four years, I moved into the gallery world. I found that historically, galleries have been dominated by attention to white, male artists, so this was of course a huge shift. I would advocate for including Black artists in the gallery’s programming, but realized that in some ways, those artists were invisible to the people I was working with. It seemed like there were two parallel art worlds. I was trying to bring one into the other, which was critical to me — that all voices and practices be seen and heard. There’s so much talent out there that is just being ignored. Even though it was at times difficult to be doubted when trying to bring these voices to the table, it felt like there was almost no choice but to advocate for these underrepresented artists.”

5 Questions to Alexandra Giniger

“In addition to providing platforms for Black artists to exhibit work, which is of course significant, galleries must earnestly enter the conversation about forwarding racial justice initiatives. This might mean having uncomfortable conversations with collectors about the meaning and drive behind artists’ work, or it might look like actively hiring more people of color on staff in stakeholder positions. Each gallery, museum, and art space should conduct detailed self-audits to determine their roles in perpetuating inequality and should dive into these gaps in order to propel change.”

A New York Group Show Surfaces Human Rights Issues through Portraiture

It is to the great credit of the curator Alexandra Giniger... that artworks produced over the course of five decades and across multiple continents so clearly communicate with one another. “Portraiture is intrinsically a preservation of individual humanity,” Giniger explains. It is a political act that takes on added gravity when, as she says, it occurs “amidst societies that would prefer control.” 

Jack Shainman’s Artist Whisperer Alexandra Giniger on How She Went From an Intern in Awe of Barkley Hendricks to Working With His Estate

“I am very excited about the gallery’s new initiative, States of Being, which is dedicated to the gallery’s public engagement with social and racial justice work. An evolving program of interventions, happenings, and community outreach, States of Being is an opportunity to collaborate with creators and voices beyond the gallery’s immediate organization... I think that these collaborations and cross-pollinations across industries will be critical as we fight to dismantle the inequitable systems in place.”

The Art Stars of Entre Nous: The dining club has become a networking powerhouse for women of color in the art world.

A born-and-raised New Yorker, Alexandra Giniger is an alumnus of the Studio Museum of Harlem, interning there in 2007 before working as the studio manager for the Kenyan artist Wangechi Mutu. “It was exactly what I wanted to do: be an expert in this artist’s language and be able to support her. As tough as it was to leave Wangechi, I knew that what I was doing with her was what I wanted to accomplish with other artists, so that is when I moved into the gallery scene.” She ended up at Jack Shainman after being a fan for many years. “We work with more artists of color, more black artists, I would think, than any other gallery in New York.”

All Things Art

From changing the status quo, being named as top in their field, radical in the world of art, these next three guests are changing the world of art. Rujeko Hockley, Assistant Curator at the Whitney Museum of American Art, Ashley James, Assistant Curator at the Brooklyn Museum and Alexandra Ginger, Director of Artist Relations at the Jack Shainman Gallery explore and discuss what museums and artists helped mold them and share their thoughts on the future of art for young African Americans.

In Conversation with Alexandra Giniger: A Radical Black Woman in the New York Art World

When I think of the legacy of the current Brooklyn Museum exhibit, 'We Wanted a Revolution: Black Radical Women, 1965-85', and who are the new millennial women of color shaping the art world, women like Alexandra Giniger come to mind.

This New Arts Endeavor Hopes to ‘Change the Way We Engage With Africa’

When art truly intersects with social activism, the slow moving gears of change can be felt. A couple of cogs might just be set in motion tonight at the Gladstone Gallery in Chelsea, with the launch of the AFRICA'SOUT! campaign and a benefit in support of East African LGBTQI rights. To learn a bit more, we spoke with Mutu’s studio manager, Alexandra Giniger, about the campaign she’s been helping to plan.