I'd like to begin by acknowledging, first and foremost, that the modern city of Louisville and the Speed Art Museum (at University of Louisville) resides on land belonging primarily to the following Native American tribes: Shawnee, Cherokee, Osage, Seneca-Iroquois, Miami, Hopewell and Adena. Colonization is not over. This land was stolen.

Now, the reason I'm writing this and some background: My name is Megan. I'm a Louisville transplant and a novice Art Historian. I've lived in Indianapolis and NYC, previously. I been speaking Japanese since I was 13 years old and have loved learning more about their art, culture, and language. Additionally, I was fortunate enough to live in the vibrant, welcoming neighborhood of Bedford-Stuyvesant (more lovingly known as BedStuy) while living in Brooklyn, NYC. The Black Community in NYC has been nothing but welcoming to me. Members of the Black Community in Brooklyn warmly invited me into their businesses, social circles, celebrations, and have shared the history of the neighborhood with me both orally and though their actions in pursuing to further BedStuy's rich legacy.

Art Museums are an institution of culture in many ways. Often times, Museums become representative of the communities which surround them, bringing in exhibits which intrigue and start conversations about context, Art for Art's Sake, and beauty.

I was browsing the upcoming Speed Museum events and one caught my eye: 

Yayoi Kusama. INFINITY MIRRORED ROOM – LET’S SURVIVE FOREVER.

My jaw dropped. Yayoi Kusama is a famous Japanese Artist known for her stunning use of Polka Dots and spheres/circles to create surrealist installations; they are reflective of hallucinations Ms. Kusama experienced as a child. 

The OTHER thing Yayoi Kusama is famous for came to mind in seconds; I thought to myself "Surely....they wouldn't bring an artist who has profited off of Anti-Black hate speech to the Speed...In LOUISVILLE?" 

In many instances, including her 2003 Autobiography "Infinity Net" and a 1971 stage play called “Tokyo Lee,” Ms. Kusama uses DISGUSTING, othering language to describe Black peoples. Worse still, she undoubtedly profited off of these instances of bigotry. She has expounded upon very one-dimensional, stereotypical physical traits common in Black lineage in many instances throughout her career. I am not going into detail as to not promote the vile narrative surrounding these ideas, but these and other instances are easy to find. Her history of hatred is both extensive and well-documented.

So surely, she has apologized in 2024, right? Well....barely.

In the wake of her SFMoMA exhibit about to open in Fall of 2023, (yes, just a few months ago as of my writing this,) Yayoi Kusama "apologized." The following blurb was taken from ArtNews.com:

"'I deeply regret using hurtful and offensive language in my book,' the Japanese artist said in a statement to the San Francisco Chronicle supplied by the museum on Friday. 'My message has always been one of love, hope, compassion, and respect for all people. My lifelong intention has been to lift up humanity through my art. I apologize for the pain I have caused.'”

I have a few problems with this. First of all, she doesn't acknowledge the Black Community directly here. Second, she does not discuss the actual damaging aspects/wrongness of her writings. Third, she only acknowledges her book as a source of pain/harm. And fourth and finally, she made no reparations which I have been able to find on the internet. What I can find, however, is several more articles from curators, reporters, and others expressing the same concerns I have: Why do people think acknowledging her art is more important than condemning her backwards morals?

I've been trying to contact the Speed Museum for WEEKS in trying to resolve this. The museum's reply indicated to me that the person replying did not read my original email. None of my particular concerns are addressed. They stopped replying to me after their blanket statement email acknowledging Ms. Kusama's "apology," if one can even call it that.

I love Louisville. I love and respect Japanese art and culture. I love and respect Black art and culture. Both of these cultures, neither of which I belong to personally, have brought so much joy and light into my life. I'm forever grateful that I've been given opportunities to learn about such beautiful customs, eat incredible food, and admire captivating art from both the Japanese and Black Communities. As a white woman, I do not know the pain and discrimination either of these Communities face. So instead, it is my job to advocate for them.

Japan's damage to Black culture runs very deep. I am not nearly well-versed enough in it to discuss it with any merit, but the facts are out there. Yayoi Kusama is a horrible representative for what makes a "great" Japanese artist.

Louisville would not exist without the tenacity, perseverance, and drive of the Black Community here- past, present, and future. Breonna Taylor was JUST murdered here as an unjust consequence of her Blackness. Her legacy is being ignored by the museum hosting this exhibit. Are we really saying her legacy is less important than POLKA DOTS AND MIRRORS?? Breonna's death will not be forgotten. She will live in honor in the hearts of Louisville until the end of time.

In 1960, Muhammad Ali won an Olympic Gold Medal. Upon returning home to Louisville, he cast the medal into the Ohio River, roughly 2 miles from where the Speed Museum sits today, in protest of racial segregation. A Black athlete/celebrity openly chose his morals over the monetary and social values of his Gold Medal victory. THAT is what Louisville stands for. Moral conviction that transcends SOLID GOLD. 

Louisville's Black Community deserves better than to be overlooked. The Speed Museum, in hosting this exhibit, shows that money is the priority. The values of the community apparently have no place in our local art museum. Yayoi Kusama will NEVER be welcome here until the damage of her actions are backed up with reparations.

I am calling for a protest of the ENTIRETY of the Speed Art Museum until they cancel the exhibit, set to open July 2024. Alternatively, and at the very least, the profits from the exhibit should be used to benefit the local Black Community as a form of reparations. FYI, the Speed just hosted Black History Month events in February. True participants in the pursuit of Racial Equity and Justice would uphold standards of Anti-Racism year round and not just as a publicity stunt or out of convenience.

I leave you with my final words to the marketing exec at the museum who has since stopped replying: "Let me know how we can work toward populating the Speed with artists who haven’t had any amount of racist history; there are plenty to choose from."