Championing Wins : The Hollow Veil of Inclusion

I like the idea of celebrating big wins and small wins. I think doing so is important to reinforce positivity in art culture, as well as inspire others to try harder and start to form new interactions and relationships. The space just has to actually care about small wins and not just big ones for this to work.

And so, one of the things I’ve seen constantly within the digital art environment here is the suggestion that we celebrate big wins under the guise of “celebrating everyone,” but I rarely see small wins celebrated anywhere near to the capacity of the big ones outside of the small circles that inhabit those wins. For obvious reasons, this makes sense, but it becomes an issue if we constantly talk about lifting everyone up and only prioritize the larger ones when or if they’re at risk of criticism.

It doesn’t need to be us or them, big versus small. There is room for everyone to win and for those that do to be celebrated, but I often only see discussions of lesser-known artists included within the conversation when more well known and successful artists are being criticized or something to that effect. And here we come to what I’d refer to as "the hollow veil of inclusion."

What this essentially means is that, in order to reinforce the status quo and keep conversations positive regarding one demographic, a person will mention lesser-known and occasionally successful or non successful artists to present this idea that “we’re all equal.”

Which I suspect, to many artists, makes them feel more devalued in the process because of the reality of what it takes to be successful.

I’ve talked about it before, but it’s the danger in using the “rising tide lifts all ships” analogy. Its a nice sentiment, but I always find it (sorry to use this word) problematic when a phrasing that embodies empathy and inclusion is used in systems and environments where these things often are not happening to the extent that phrasing would like you to believe. I do very much think that uplifting each other and kindness are pillars of growth and development within culture, but there has to be action put to these things in order for them to hold validity in the long term.

I love the idea of celebrating art wins in a diverse way, but the issue is that so many smaller wins or accomplishments are not acknowledged at all, even when people see them, until the artist blows up and become socially acceptable to praise openly.

Now I want to be clear. Ultimately, the issue is trying to promote inclusion and equality in a world where it is almost impossible to do so to the extent we would like. But the ideals we hold to enact such things are lessened when we lead with hollow wording that we don't take actionable steps to reinforce. I don't like seeing well known artists picked apart solely on the merits of being successful, as most of us started in a place where nobody knew who we were. Just as i don't like lesser-known artists instantly being written off for not immediately existing at the finish line that more well known artists have had to grind to get to.

But there's a flaw in the idea of “celebrate everyone,” because it disregards individuality, taste, and our lived experience regarding our own interests and why we do or do not want to support someone. That is part of being human & inhabiting a place in society, and this dichotomy makes aspects of inclusion within the arts difficult. But we all try our best, and we should all strive to lift up the art we love and the people we enjoy that make them.