Not white, not male, and not New York: race, feminism and artists in Pittsburgh

This essay explores the intersection of art, race, and sexual politics in Pittsburgh PA, USA where generally artists of colour have been all but invisible to the overwhelmingly white arts establishment. Focus is on artist Vanessa German, who describes herself as a citizen artist. Her sculptural works reflect the legacy and contemporary realities for African Americans living with white racism. She also established the ArtHouse for local kids, to help them see how they can create communication and new futures. German is contextualised as part of a dynamic culture of Black artists in the city productive of work addressing gendered and raced identities, including the #notwhite collective, Alisha Wormsley, and Chris Ivey. I use Stuart Hall’s theories of assemblage of diasporic cultures and subjectivities to amplify legibility for their diverse work, and his theories of conjuncture to identify the moment producing it.