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 over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...
,
tokenism
Tokenism is the practice of making only a perfunctory or symbolic effort to be inclusive to members of minority groups, especially by recruiting people from underrepresented groups in order to give the appearance of racial or gender equality wit ...
, 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, and educator. She is known as a painter and mixed media artist, her work explores texture, color, structures, and the process of making art; it is often political, addressing ...
, 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