An Interview with the Founders of Black Arts Vancouver

A note from ECU: We regularly publish stories about our alumni, to share their creative achievements and endeavours with our community and the public. As part of this practice, we reached out to alumni Chase Keetley and Berlynn Beam, co-founders of Black Arts Vancouver, and asked if they would write about the creation and purpose of their organization.

Chase and Berlynn interviewed each other, choosing their own questions, and wrote candidly about how their experiences of racism and erasure as students at ECU informed the creation of Black Arts Vancouver. Their story is presented below in their own words, and has not been edited or modified in any way.

As an institution grappling with our own history of colonial violence and white supremacy, we believe that confronting these injustices is necessary to build a more inclusive future for all our students, staff and faculty. We’re grateful to Chase and Berlynn for their honesty, and invite you to read their contribution.

An informal interview with the founders of Black Arts Vancouver, Berlynn Beam and Chase Keetley. Chase is a settler on the STOLEN land of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish), and səl̓ilw̓ətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) peoples.

Berlynn Beam is an Oakland Native, on the unceded stolen land of the Muwekma Ohlone peoples. Black Arts Vancouver actively stands in solidarity with our Indigenous Kin.

In the years after graduating from Emily Carr University of Art + Design, both Chase and Berlynn sought to distance themselves from the school due to the lack of accountability and support that the school had shown in regards to the treatment of their Black students, staff, and faculty. Chase holds a degree in Visual Arts. Berlynn holds a degree in Illustration.

In 2018, Chase and Berlynn began a series of workshops to teach about Black Diasporic Arts expression to Black, Indigenous, youth of colour. After securing grant funding to provide the workshops through ArtStarts in Schools, they were able to host their first round of tactile workshops with a tremendous turnout of young people and young families.

Before we start the interview, how did the two of you meet?

Berlynn Beam: Chase and I failed the same class under suspicious circumstances.

How is Black students' education valued at Emily Carr University of Art + Design?

Berlynn Beam: It is well known that Emily Carr has had a track record of minimal to no existence of Black instructors, and only more recently, within the past 2-3 years started to reach out.

While in contact with instructors that we know as friends, and fellow artists we are aware that presently there is no support offered when it comes to problems brought to the attention of the institution, by their BIPoC sudents, staff and faculty. Students have long been left to fend for themselves, when it comes to matters of racial injustice, violence, and underrepresentation. These problems arise within the classroom and fester within the student body due to unchecked aggression and appeasement. Many students opt to keep their heads down and find a way to work through these issues. Many are silenced with non-disclosure agreements. We want our money back.

Chase Keetley: As Black students at Emily Carr, instructors did not show any support towards our artistic expression nor written projects that talked about Black Empowerment and injustice within the Black Experience. Our presence was unacknowledged and was circumvented by not having any Black discourse in the classroom.

Hope Akello started a Black Student Union at Emily Carr to talk about these issues that affected not only our academic life, but how this spilled into our personal lives as well. Later it was continued by Berlynn during their 3rd year at Emily Carr. Many of the Black students identified similarly about their experience, and how their instructors would dissuade them from talking about their experience.

Instead of listening to the concerns of their students, they opted to teach a class on whiteness, held off-campus. This prompted the show, Let’s Call A Spade A Spade, in which the words “No Mo White Nonsense” were painted as a direct response to the caucasity, or Caucasian-Audacity if you will.

How did you come to do what you’re doing?

BB: It took a while to settle on what we wanted to do, within our own practice and as Black Arts Vancouver. When the idea was formed we immediately thought of the power that we had as Black Creatives to change someones’ introduction into the Arts. It was knowing that we had found our small yet significant community of Black Creatives, and forever friends we wanted to spotlight the various ways they did what they did. We wanted to be able to facilitate conversations, and showings of Black Diasporic Expression.

Did you feel that Emily Carr was transparent about their zero-tolerance for racism on campus, both from students, faculty, and staff?

CK: No, I think that racism was bred in the classroom, and in private conversations held in closed-door meetings. There was a meeting that Berlynn and I were a part of that gave us insight as to how these meetings take place. We were invited to a room that was primarily white faculty members and sat through a 45-minute discussion about how hard it is to identify ways to support minority students…

How do you feel about being in contact with the institution post-grad?

CK: I feel like my experience was elaborately forgotten. Coincidentally they want to ask for our story because we’re successful on our own terms. Because there is a new president, the lineage of problems seems to reset itself with no reconciliation or continued support.

BB: That part.

What has Black Arts Vancouver done for you since it was started in 2018?

CK: It's given me a chance to understand my practice and how it helps the community I represent and how it helps me better understand my practice in different circumstances, I guess you can say. It’s helped me become an arts facilitator and a leader in my community. It has helped me to understand the importance of heritage and has allowed me to pursue research into BC’s Black History.

BB: It’s been a huge boost for building community. I’ve found so much support both within and around what we’re doing. We get to see young people flourish trying new things, and see them grow. During COVID-19 it’s been difficult to figure out supportive ways that we can host workshops without being exclusionary.

Technology has its barriers, but even within that, we’ve been able to form new understandings around the challenges that people face. It’s so important to be in community and conversation with the youth, especially as they navigate the world around COVID, social unrest, and the continued fight against inequities that face our communities. It’s sparked my interest in exploring ways to support and build pockets of sustainability and security.

What has the community response been to BAV?

CK: Families with bi-racial, and guardians who’ve adopted Black and Indigenous children have been very supportive about what we do and continue to do. I never expected that our services would get such a huge response, but people seem to understand what we do better than we do ourselves. We are always looking to fill those very big shoes that never seem to stop growing.

Do you have advice or insights for other Black and Indigenous creatives who want to create their own community organization?

CK: Start small, have a weekly support group talking about everything. Make sure you have strict boundaries set, like only marginalized people may apply, because those participants may only want to attend based on the space you created for them. Understand that you are doing very important work, so take it seriously.

BB: I think that’s so true. I think as creatives we’ve been given examples along a standard of what collectives do, and how they should operate, but it’s so important to identify what serves you, and makes you want to continue doing what you’re passionate about. I think we identified what we want to see, and that’s Black Artists with no boundaries. It’s important to identify those parts of your community that could be supported and work to make lasting connections between communities. We always talk about validity.

CK: It’s important to stay valid in everything that you do. Valid for your own expression, but also for honouring your community.

How can folks get involved in or support BAV?

CK: You can connect with us through our Instagram, @blackartsvancouver, or on our site blackartsvancouver.com. We answer emails from 1:00-4:00 pm Monday through Wednesday. We ask that you please make sure you write your name, who you represent, whether it be yourself or an organization/collective and tell us what you have in mind! We accept e-transfer donations to blackartsancouver@gmail.com to support our upcoming workshops and community outreach.

BB: We are currently gearing up for our TERRArium workshop as well as our Pan-African Printmaking workshop happening in late Spring. It's instructed by myself, Chase Keetley, and fellow ECU grad and multidisciplinary artist, Garvin Chinnia.

These workshops are hands-on and a great introduction into mark making, and urban foraging. We are moving towards building a curriculum around Black Indigenous Traditionalism, and looking to be in community with our Indigenous kin in a capacity that honours our shared histories.