Civic leaders are recognizing more and more that the impact of the arts goes beyond cultural and aesthetic enhancements. The hope is that civic engagement—artists working on location in studios, museums, galleries, music, and dance performances—will attract people, and their economic infusion will foster the development of neglected downtown areas. Public art is now trending as reparations for African Americans and women.

In this watershed moment—spurred by the massive uprisings and protests in response to the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Tony McDade, and too many others—we understand that bridging the deep racial and ideological chasms for environmental justice will require creative solutions and funding. I want to be counted as a catalyst to meet this moment as I continue to advocate for my public art practice by creating awareness to deepen the knowledge of the people of color’s struggle for equity.

“How do we get more women and people of color into the public-art arena?” Time magazine asked me, last year. I retorted, “It’s not going to be easy!” It’s not. Of the 5,000-some-odd representational-figurative public artworks in the United States, less than five percent have been created by women; and fewer than that have been created by Black people. How did I get into the arena? I was favored.

I did not go to art school. God’s gift compelled me to exercise and challenge my abilities to express my visions. The importance of art has not been what I learned about it but that I experience it. My choice of subject declares what aspects of existence I regard as important, as worthy of being recreated and contemplated: I’m Black, I make art about Black people. This is the simple reality of Vinnie Bagwell.

Mentors guided me, challenged me to write well, ushered me through college, showed me how to be self-employed, and sharpened my strategic-planning skills. People helped me. They “invested” in me. Artists need “war generals” to wrestle for fairness and equity. (Public art commission contracts are mostly not “friendly”.) My attorneys, who work pro bono, make my career possible! To be successful, working artists need a bandwagon from the start! What a blessing to have my dad and all-time biggest fan provide a bridge (read “money”) for me to traverse troubled waters. It is a game-changer when you are highly favored.

Now that “Black Lives Matter” and the “Year of the Woman” have brought light to the underserved in the public art arena, I find people seeking me out to voice our concerns. I got Zoomed out this year during Black History Month and Women’s Month, but it was rewarding to be at the table talking about the role Black people played in history and dreams for the future. Everywhere, people are fired up and they call me to ask how to begin creating art for public places in their hometown. It’s exciting to see a bandwagon, and it is not too late!