Short Essay (Naomi Andujar)

 Naomi Andujar

Professor Cacoilo

Activists, Interlop &Pranksters  

What I Know About Kimberly Drew

24 February 2021

In the autobiography “This Is What I Know About Art” Kimberly Drew tells an inspirational story about how she pushed diversity into the art world. In the beginning of the book, we see a young black woman struggling to find her passion in college. Like many of us at this age, she was going through many obstacles like losing her grandfather and going through heartbreak. While facing these challenges she eventually realizes that the only classes she enjoys taking have to do with the African American culture, but she wasn’t sure she had the luxury of taking a chance on a career that could be so risky. She ended up giving it a chance and applied for an internship at the Studio museum , and the only reason she did was because she would get paid for it. This internship ended up being the beginning of her finding her true passion. She saw many black artists not getting as much recognition as other well known artists which infuriated her. After this her spark never left as she would stand up to professors and anyone who gave her a hard time for doing what she believed in. She created a successful blog and got many job offerings, but sometimes still felt out of place with her peers. 

The story that Kimberly Drew tells is very motivating because we live in a world where not everyone is going to believe in your views if they can't relate to them. She made many people in the art industry realize how wrong they were for not giving these black artists the attention they deserve. In the chapter “Understanding Patriarchy” by Bell Hooks she states “I was always more interested in challenging patriarchy than my brother because it was the system that was always leaving me out of the things that I wanted to be a part of.” (Hooks 20)Although these are two different topics we can compare them because both Hooks and Drew were being left out of things they wanted to be a part of. As a young black woman in the art world she wasn’t seeing enough representation for herself and other African Americans. Sometimes when there is a specific pattern in a certain industry it’s hard to break the cycle. Kimberly Drew speaks about “Imposter Syndrome,” also known as the feeling that you don’t belong somewhere. Even once she became more well known she felt out of place when she would be herself, but she was able to break out of her shell and push those emotions away to be able to make a difference that she wanted to make. 

Once Kimberly Drew got a job at Metropolitan Museum of Art she was seen as different by her peers. People made remarks about her being hired like, “The Met hired someone like you.”(Drew 53) In this generation being different is something that is often frowned upon. People were judging Drew solely on looks without even paying attention to all of the hard work she has put in to be in the position that she was. In chapter seven of “Ways of Seeing Here” John Berger states, "The pursuit of individual happiness has been acknowledged as a universal right. Yet the existing social conditions make the individual feel powerless.” (Berger 148) Being envied is something that people glamourize. Since Drew was just beginning to get attention no one really gave her any respect because she was “different” than what they were used to. She was trying to do better for not only her community, but to change the social norms of the world, yet people looked past that. 

Reading this book was very uplifting because I grew up feeling like I wasn’t able to fit in with the people around me. Something so simple that people make remarks about can create self hate within oneself. People would tell me that my curly hair was a mess and that I should straighten it, so for years I would burn my hair to fit society’s definition of pretty. Just how Drew never saw representation for herself in the art world, I never saw representation for my curly hair so I felt ashamed to be myself. Eventually I got tired of trying to fit in so I did what made me happy and wore my hair natural. After growing more confidence in being myself I realized that my hair is a part of what makes me different. It takes courage to be the one who stands out, but eventually more and more people will follow in your steps because they feel empowered by you. Drew states, “I did not want to be like everyone else at the museum. I loved wearing glitter covered sneakers and letting my locs bounce around from meeting to meeting. I didn’t want to fit in.”(Drew 54)  At that moment she knew she was different, but now she is inspiring so many people who want to follow in her footsteps. It took Kimberly Drew courage and strength to be where she is now, but it was definitely worth it because she is making the difference that the world needs.

Work Cited 

Berger, J. (1972). Ways of seeing. In Ways of seeing (pp. 129-155). London: BBC and Penguin.

Drew, K. (2020). This Is What I Know About Art. Penguin USA.

Hooks, B. (2005). The will to change: Men, masculinity, and love. In The will to change: Men, masculinity, and love (pp. 17-32). New York etc.: Washington Square Press.