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Ganggang

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For the cockatoo, see Gang-gang cockatoo. For other uses, see Gang Gang (disambiguation).

GANGGANG
FormationLate 2020
FoundersAlan Bacon, Malina Simone Jeffers
Region served
Indianapolis, US
Websiteganggangculture.com

Ganggang (stylized in all caps) is an American cultural development and social justice organization. Founded by spouses and business partners Alan Bacon and Malina "Mali" Simone Jeffers in late 2020, Ganggang works to showcase and financially support Black visual artists and their work. Their efforts have included organizing artist collectives, fine art fairs, a curated exhibition at the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields, and live performances.

History

[edit]

Jeffers named the firm Ganggang in Indianapolis to celebrate the real meaning of gang, "to go on a journey"[1] and dismiss the use of the term to criminalize groups of black men.[2] From June to August 2020, Malina "Mali" Jeffers and Alan Bacon helped coordinate eighteen artists who painted a Black Lives Matter street mural in Indianapolis on Indiana Avenue during the peak of the George Floyd protests. The group of artists became known as "The Eighteen Art Collective".[3][4][5] At the time, Bacon was working at United Way of Central Indiana, and Jeffers had just left a position as vice president of marketing at an Indianapolis property group. Ganggang officially formed in November 2020.[4][6]

During the 2021 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament in March, Ganggang organized art fairs and performances by hundreds of dancers, musicians, and spoken word artists. The three-week event, called Swish, was a partnership with the Arts Council of Indianapolis and the Indianapolis Cultural Trail.[7][4][8]

In November 2021, Ganggang planned to curate an exhibition featuring The Eighteen Art Collective at the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields, where Jeffers is on the board of governors. However, after controversies at the museum involving the museum's president and CEO at the time, Charles L. Venable, Ganggang pulled out of the show.[6][9] A year after the resignation of Venable, as well as continued efforts by the museum to better its relationship with the Indianapolis community, Ganggang acted as guest curators for an expanded version of the originally planned Newfields exhibition, now titled "We. The Culture".[9][4]

Throughout 2021 and 2022, Ganggang sponsored a number of public events, including a free concert series outside Clowes Memorial Hall and "BLACK: A Festival of Joy". They also commissioned murals, including one by Indianapolis artist Ashley Nora on The Stutz (a renovated building previously owned by Stutz Motor Company) and one by Amiah Mims in Marathon Health's office in Carmel, Indiana.[10][11][12][3][6]

In March 2022, Ganggang partnered with IndyGo, with the two companies sharing space in a former Key Bank building.[13]

Butter art fair

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Artist Ashley Nora posing in front of her art at the BUTTER 2 art fair
A sculpture of a stick of butter at the BUTTER 2 art fair

In 2021, Ganggang created the Butter fine art fair (stylized BUTTER), a multi-day art exhibition that takes place over Labor Day weekend at The Stutz building in downtown Indianapolis.[14][15][16] The first Butter resulted in the sale of 42 pieces of art totaling $65,000, with more sales resulting after the fair. Artists were not charged a fee to take part in the exhibition, and were not charged a commission on sales.[17][15]

The second iteration of Butter, called BUTTER 2, took place over four days in September 2022, with triple the physical size.[15][4] The fair included the addition of a dance party on Saturday night called "Melt", several live performances, a merchandise store, and walking tours from Indianapolis historian Sampson Levingston.[15] The four-member curation team was composed of Bacon, Jeffers, former executive director of the Indianapolis Contemporary Braydee Euliss, and former Indianapolis Museum of Art curator and The Art Assignment creator Sarah Urist Green.[18][19][20][21] The exhibition resulted in over $250,000 in art sales.[17] In a November 2022 article discussing Butter and Ganggang's role in the evolution of the Indianapolis art scene, The New York Times stated that Ganggang, despite being "barely two years old, [... was] already finding its way into the national art scene, elevating artists of color, maximizing their earnings by giving them all the profit for their work, and proving that Indianapolis is more than a sports city".[4]

The fair returned again in 2023, raising nearly $300,000 in sales.[22][23]

Funding and governance

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Ganggang officially formed in November 2020 with $250,000 in initial seed money.[4][6] The organization's primary benefactor is the Central Indiana Community Foundation.[6] Bacon and Jeffers, a married couple,[24] run the firm alongside a board of directors that include former Indianapolis Colt Gary Brackett and A'Lelia Bundles, who is the great-great-granddaughter of Madam C. J. Walker.[25][26]

Ganggang contains elements of both a non-profit and for-profit enterprise. The not-for-profit side develops programming related to their goals and the for-profit side invests in cultural entrepreneurs. Jeffers explained to Indianapolis Monthly in a February 2021 interview, "We are wanting to support those who, by tradition, aren't recognized by arts organizations. It's not easy to find support, especially if you are a cultural entrepreneur. You can't find funding if you are a for-profit entity, and we shouldn't have to force artists to become a not-for-profit to receive funding".[6]

References

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  1. ^ "Gang: A loaded word". Chicago Tribune. July 27, 2011. Retrieved October 21, 2023.
  2. ^ Muhammad, Sumayyah (March 10, 2021). "Ball State alumna launches development firm GANGGANG to invest in artistic 'people of culture'". Indianapolis Recorder. Retrieved October 21, 2023.
  3. ^ a b Lindquist, David (October 25, 2021). "Cultural Startup Focused On Black Artists Wants To Push Barriers 'Until There Are None'". Forbes. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Bahr, Sarah (November 29, 2022). "2 Years After Racism Outcry, Indianapolis Embraces Black Artists". The New York Times. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
  5. ^ Winfrey, Katiera (November 25, 2020). "Nonprofit GangGang looks to develop Indianapolis art culture, creatives". WISH-TV. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Olsen, Dawn (February 6, 2021). "Meet The Entrepreneurs Working To Diversify Indy's Arts Scene". Indianapolis Monthly. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
  7. ^ Bahr, Sarah (March 18, 2021). "March Madness Brings Vibrant Art and Energy to Indianapolis". The New York Times. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
  8. ^ Christian, Kurt (March 26, 2021). "How Swish festival pays Indy artists—rain or shine". Indianapolis Business Journal. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
  9. ^ a b Steel, Ray (September 21, 2022). "The 18 Art Collective comes to Newfields". WRTV Indianapolis. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
  10. ^ McGowan, Chloe (August 5, 2022). "Events to celebrate Black joy in Indy this weekend: 'It's exactly what we need right now'". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
  11. ^ Steele, Ray (July 7, 2022). "GangGang brings back the free Clowes Lawn concert series". WRTV Indianapolis. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
  12. ^ Ambrogi, Mark (February 6, 2022). "GANGGANG, Marathon Health partner, debut 1st mural in Carmel". Retrieved December 5, 2022.
  13. ^ Fowler, Ashley (March 10, 2022). "IndyGo partnering with cultural development firm GANGGANG". WISH-TV. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
  14. ^ Bongiovanni, Domenica (August 27, 2021). "New multisensory art fair Butter hopes to make Indianapolis a Black arts destination". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
  15. ^ a b c d Bongiovanni, Domenica (August 31, 2022). "'Butter' art fair is back this weekend, and it'll be three times as big as last year's". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved September 2, 2022.
  16. ^ Burris, Alexandria (February 10, 2022). "The Stutz to be redeveloped with retail, dining and more in historic auto factory". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
  17. ^ a b Lindquist, Dave (September 6, 2022). "Art sales during second Butter fair at Stutz top $250,000". Indiana Business Journal. Archived from the original on September 6, 2022. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
  18. ^ Lindquist, Dave (August 25, 2022). "Sarah Urist Green joins Butter team to help elevate Indianapolis artists". Indianapolis Business Journal. Retrieved August 26, 2022.
  19. ^ Harris, Shakkira (August 29, 2022). "Everything you need to know for the BUTTER 2 Fine Art Fair". WRTV. Retrieved September 2, 2022.
  20. ^ Fenwick, Tyler (February 24, 2022). "GANGGANG 'humbled' by response from artists, community". Indianapolis Recorder. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
  21. ^ KENNETT, JAYDEN (August 18, 2022). "'The Black Basel': BUTTER 2 promotes Black artists through equity". Indianapolis Recorder. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
  22. ^ Dixon, Delaina (September 8, 2023). "Van Hunt and Dame Dash Catch Vibes At BUTTER Art Fair, Which Raised Nearly $300,000 in Sales for Black Artists". EBONY. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  23. ^ McGOWAN, CHLOE (August 31, 2023). "BUTTER artists talk art, equity and cultivating creativity". Indianapolis Recorder. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  24. ^ Browley, Jasmine (September 17, 2023). "Meet The Founders Of BUTTER, An Art Fair Built On Giving Black Artists Their Cultural Reparations". Forbes. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  25. ^ Hodges, Dylan Lee (August 29, 2022). "Spread The News: BUTTER Art Fair Is Back". Indianapolis Monthly. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
  26. ^ "About » GangGang". GangGang. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
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