Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Dawn Delikat. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Dawn, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

All of my work at Pen + Brush feels meaningful and has an impact for the artists and writers we work with, but a story that resonates in particular is working on our retrospective with the artist Lola Flash in 2018 as it highlights the strategy and capacity of our programs. Lola Flash had been creating substantial work for 30 years when we met, and while she was well regarded in the field, she did not have commercial representation and was not selling her work regularly for fair equity, and really had no clear path in the field, which her work had earned and deserved. Like so many, a full art historical focus on the significance of Lola’s lifetime of work had never been done.

There is so much to say about the details of this process and working so closely and intensely with Lola on curating this show along with Parker Daley Garcia, my protege since 2015, things that we came up against together and worked through to make both the show and its catalog a success. Parts of it are deeply personal and intense. They are the most critical aspects, because without that authentic willingness to meet the artist and the work where they are, you can’t get there. Our retrospective did the heavy lifting that her lifetime of work needed and truly deserved.

Part of our process in working with an artist is evaluating fair equity for their work by evaluating like comparisons in the primary and secondary art market; their accomplishments; the work itself, with being realistic for the market and what collectors of undiscovered art can transparently understand. We had accomplished a lot to help move Lola forward to gain greater recognition in the art world during our exhibition and following the show, our continued support of each other over the years led to both of our trajectories to grow together.  Ultimately, this led to acquisitions from The Museum of Modern Art, The National Museum of African American History & Culture, and The Whitney. Helping to secure Lola Flash’s voice in the canon is extremely rewarding and collectors who purchased works from our exhibition in 2018 have been rewarded as these works have escalated in value greatly.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Sure, I think my point of entry into college a bit later in life and as a first generation college student to study visual art and literature is an important context.  After high school I had worked an office job for about 7 years so when I decided to return to school to continue my education it really became a passionate driven journey of discovery. While falling in love with art, literature, and film and working in the studio learning to draw and paint, when I came to understand how centuries of biases led to voices being kept out of the canons, I knew I wanted to somehow work to create room for change and substance in the present. After learning various aspects of the field by managing an artist studio, a commercial gallery and working at museums and educational settings – I ultimately knew that I was best suited for the nonprofit / alternative space arts sector.

I am most proud of my work as the executive director of Pen + Brush, which is a 129-year-old nonprofit supporting the work of underrepresented and undiscovered women and non-binary artists and writers. We foster and launch emerging artists and writers and also work to expose the work of mid-late career artists whose work is impactful and so ingrained in a larger cultural dialogue that to deny them recognition is to perpetuate a corrupt and incomplete canon of history. Because of this approach, our exhibitions and publications offer the general public, art enthusiasts, art collectors, and readers a chance to discover something new and accessible.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

I am driven by the humanities’ boundless capacity to supply society with a democratic version of history both in hindsight and real time. The arts graciously offer us truth, beauty, a sometimes much needed respite from the everyday, as well as the space to dive deeper into who we are and to understand each other’s perspectives and experiences and all that we share and value collectively/universally as members of the human race. And so when any part of the population is left out of the systems that are meant to put forth voices of our time and sustain them is left out because of their gender, race, or cultural background we all are lesser for it. So throughout my career and through my work at Pen + Brush my mission is to give artists a chance to be seen, exposed, heard and supported outside of trends, market pressure, and perpetuated systematic biases.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

I would recommend seeking out alternative spaces to view art and buy books and enjoy the journey of discovering works and voices that you connect with. If you are an enthusiast/appreciator support by attending events and becoming part of the dialog at artist talks and book launches. These spaces are alternative communities that are extremely engaging and the staff is deeply passionate about the artists they are exhibiting and publishing. If you are a collector or philanthropist even at the emerging level please consider making donations and purchases at these alternative spaces as a little can really go a long way in supporting both the artist and the organization. Because underrepresented voices are undervalued, works are often more affordable/accessible then you might think and therefore has a good chance of escalating in value as their career grows. You can be part of helping artists and alternative ecosystems thrive.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.penandbrush.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dawnoftheart/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dawn-delikat-8b79489a/

Image Credits
Bird Piccininni, courtesy Pen + Brush, New York