Group making the Art World more Welcoming for Black Women
Black Girls In Art Spaces (BGIAS) has rapidly grown from a Dallas meetup to over 30 chapters worldwide in just two years, offering Black women a space to explore the arts and support Black artists. Founder Kaci Merriwether-Hawkins started the group after moving to Dallas in 2022, seeking connection and a shared art experience. “It just makes you feel welcomed, and it connects you to your people,” she says.
Merriwether-Hawkins’s love for art began in 2020 with the “Black Is Beautiful” exhibit by Kwame Brathwaite. She envisioned BGIAS as an accessible, multi-generational community for Black women to engage with art. The first event took place at Dallas’s Daisha Board Gallery, the city’s only Black woman-owned contemporary art gallery at the time. Chapters quickly sprang up in cities like New York, Washington, DC, and internationally in London, Nairobi, Seoul, and Mexico City.
“This is a community garden,” says Merriwether-Hawkins, crediting BGIAS’s growth to social media and the group’s clear, inclusive name. Events often include private gallery tours, guided discussions, and communal meals. They can also feature workshops or artist talks, with most events being free or low-cost. The group welcomes all ages but asks attendees to identify as a Black woman, girl, or nonbinary person.
Navigating partnerships has been a challenge, as Merriwether-Hawkins aims to collaborate with inclusive institutions that avoid tokenism. The art world’s exclusivity is well-documented: between 2008 and 2020, works by Black American women made up just 0.5% of acquisitions at major U.S. museums, despite representing 7.7% of the population. BGIAS aims to change that narrative by amplifying Black artists and fostering new art lovers.
Participants come from diverse backgrounds, ranging from art novices to professional curators and artists. Some attendees have even secured jobs through connections made in the group. This variety enriches the community, allowing members to learn from one another and build lasting networks within the art world.
Looking ahead, Merriwether-Hawkins hopes to expand BGIAS’s reach and offer more educational opportunities, like curatorial training and art collecting classes. “There are Black women who love art all over the world,” she says. “I want to be able to reach those people. That’s my number one goal.”
