The Future of Contracts

In early 2021, artists and curators Maia Chao, Mira Dayal, Anaïs Duplan, Yxta Maya Murray, and Simon Wu opened the exhibition Drawn Together at Cuchifritos gallery. The exhibition included an instructive and expansive “orientation video” on contracts that was installed in the space and used as a starting point for a series of conversations with the gallery’s constituents; these culminated in a series of proposed edits to the historic nonprofit’s bylaws.

The project as a whole focused on the contractual underpinnings of power, the etymology and embodiment of the word contract (from the Latin meaning drawn together, tightened), and the potential for values-driven, constituent-led conversations to lead to positive, systemic change within an institution. Since bylaws govern the contractual agreements made within the gallery program, curators Dayal and Wu proposed an action-oriented exhibition that could affect all future relationships between the space and its temporary workers. Could such changes to the bylaws also lead to a more accurate reflection of the community’s needs and understanding of the gallery’s role within it? Could open communication, critique, and empathy lead to bylaws and contracts that better allow all parties to flourish?

Please join Chao, Dayal, Duplan, Murray, and Wu for a report on their processes (artistic and logistic), translation (how social and human needs became contractual terms), results (what occurred when the proposed changes got to the board of Artists Alliance Inc. that governs Cuchifritos), and recommendations for organizations and artists looking to create an infrastructure that more accurately reflects their values and priorities. They will delve into information gathering (storytelling facilitation), negotiation, timelines, and guiding principles to be used as a handbook for change. Murray, in particular, will reflect on how legal scholars can help facilitate the creation of contracts that recognize vulnerability, power dynamics, and intersectionality.

Artists and organizations looking to create an infrastructure that more accurately reflects their values and priorities are encouraged to attend.