Norman, Okla. – First American Art Magazine, a quarterly print and digital journal covering art by Indigenous peoples of the Americas, received a general operating support grant from Critical Minded.
A fiscally sponsored project of Allied Media Projects, Critical Minded supports cultural critics and critics of color in the United States with an explicit focus on building the resources and visibility of cultural criticism through: direct support to publications and individuals, research, advocacy, and convening.
“We are deeply honored by Critical Minded’s support of our efforts to raise the caliber of Native art criticism, while still being accessible to the general public,” says FAAM publishing editor America Meredith (Cherokee Nation).
Answering a Need
Founded in 2013, First American Art Magazine (FAAM) focuses on education, exploration, and reflection about Indigenous art. This marked a dramatic departure from much Native American art writing in popular media, which was largely defined by promotional marketing with little fact-checking. “When we launched, people questioned why we wrote about exhibitions after they had shown,” says Meredith. “We’ve also had to explain to curators why we don’t share reviews with them before publishing. Critical reflection outside of academia was a foreign concept to many people within the Native American art world.”
In our inaugural issue, FAAM No. 0, we’ve featured reviews of art exhibitions and books. Since that beginning, FAAM has featured reviews of Indigenous music, film, television, theater, and other artistic expressions, by critics who are Indigenous, of Indigenous descent, and non-Indigenous. These include critics who are Latine, Black, Asian, Pacific Islanders, and other diverse cultural affiliations.
FAAM’s publishing editor America Meredith (Cherokee Nation), Contributing Editor Stacy Pratt, PhD (Mvskoke), and Circulation Manager Nicole Emmons (Citizen Potawatomi) are based in Oklahoma. Their Literary Editor Matthew Ryan Smith, PhD, is based in Ontario, and Marketing Specialist Staci Golar is based in Idaho. FAAM’s broad geographical reach, necessary to best serve far-flung Indigenous communities, is further supported by an advisory council and regional representatives.
“Art criticism,” Meredith shares in her working definition, “is the interpretation, contextualization, and evaluation of art or art events primarily through writing. “ (FAAM No. 30). Sky Goodden, publisher and editor of Momus, describes art criticism as “slow looking and brave positioning.” (Personal Communication, June 10, 2021).
Critical Thinking
Critical Minded states that: “In order for artists to shift dominant narratives and seed visions of new possibility, the ideas embedded in their work must travel. This is the work of the critic: to analyze and interpret art and culture for the public and to ignite informed discourse. Critical thinking is essential to democracy, and the critics of color who dissect dominant narratives and champion unheard stories make valuable contributions to social change.”
The Nathan Cummings Foundation and the Ford Foundation co-founded Critical Minded, after discussions from a national convening of critics in 2017. The organization “emerged from the belief that engaging critically with the ideas and images that surround us is a prerequisite for transforming our cultural landscape and preserving democracy.”
In 2021, Critical Minded provided a project grant for FAAM’s “We Have Words for Art” Indigenous Art Writing Symposium
Support for Critical Minded comes from the Ford Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, Mellon Foundation, Nathan Cummings Foundation, Surdna Foundation, and Wellspring Philanthropic Fund.