PESTS was an anonymous American activist group formed in 1986 to critique
racism
Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one Race (human categorization), race or ethnicity over another. It may also me ...
,
tokenism
In sociology, tokenism is the social practice of making a perfunctory and symbolic effort towards the equitable inclusion of members of a minority group, especially by recruiting people from under-represented social-minority groups in order for th ...
, and exclusion in the art world. PESTS produced newsletters, posters, and other print material highlighting examples of discrimination in gallery representation (including lists of New York galleries representing only white artists) and museum exhibitions. PESTS also publicized events and exhibits featuring artists, scholars, and curators of color.
While the members of PESTS are not known, members of the
Guerilla Girls have stated that a Black member of Guerrilla Girls founded PESTS. PESTS also used similar tactics, including highlighting statistical data on posters with text graphics. Posters and flyers produced by PESTS included statements such as "THERE ARE AT LEAST 11,009* ARTISTS OF COLOR IN NEW YORK ¿WHY WON'T YOU SEE US?" and "¿WHAT IS TOKENISM (ANSWER) WHEN YOU'VE SEEN ONE ARTIST OF COLOR BUT THINK YOU'VE SEEN TEN."
Artist
Howardena Pindell
Howardena Pindell (born April 14, 1943) is an American artist, curator, critic, and educator. She is known as a painter and mixed media artist who uses a wide variety of techniques and materials. She began her long arts career working with the N ...
, who has highlighted systemic racism in the art world in her personal scholarship and activism,
[{{Cite journal, last=Pindell, first=Howardena, date=1988-03-01, title=Art (world) & racism, journal=Third Text, volume=2, issue=3–4, pages=157–190, doi=10.1080/09528828808576196, issn=0952-8822] has said that she participated in PESTS.
References
External links
Tate London, Art Term: PESTS
American artist groups and collectives