My art practice began in the late 1970's, when social and political causes were front and center and in response, art was very dynamic. It was the beginning of the aids epidemic and the rise of feminism. Under the leadership of art historian and critic Lucy Lippard, there was an early call to artists to take a stand against mono-culture, as well as non-utility in the arts. My own practice quickly developed in this spirit of arts activism.
I was fortunate to have apprenticed with Paul Rutkovsky, who was teaching at the Pair School of Art in Hamden, as well as Southern Connecticut State College. It was in Paul's studio that my artistic voice developed. The Hamilton Clockworks building in New Haven housed both his studio and his organization, the Papier Mache Video Institute. This became an important arts community gathering space.
Neither as volunteer or employee of the Arts Council of Greater New Haven did I ever think myself as contributing to the cultural arts. I was actively engaged in the work that seemed relevant to me and others.We were artists living together in a community that was conflicted about our value.
The greater New Haven art community understood itself as having world class art connected to its' world class Yale Art Gallery and because of its' proximity to New York City and Boston, where world class artists worked. We local artists, however, had needs and issues which were specific to living and working in the greater New Haven area. Growing up in the shadow of Yale, with a very clear distinction between those affiliated with the University and those not, is the critical lens with which to view my work. The work reflects the experience of being an outsider in ones' own hometown. This experience was not lost on me or my family, who were native to the area. It left me with many questions and concerns related to the effects of elitism on local communities.
As I matured, my concerns deepened. I was fortunate to be able to develop an artistic voice, which allowed me to explore these issues. As my art and leadership skills evolved (under the guidance of Arts Council Executive Director Bitsie Clark), I was able to expand and better express my concerns related to the well being of an entire community.
I must stress that I am now able to understand and even talk about these issues, but in its' most active stages, I did not intellectualize the work; I simply did it. It was a passionate cause and I was completely engrossed in learning as much as I could about organizations and collaborative art- making. I was sensitive to my own position as both an insider and an outsider and I was excited about what I believed was possible, if these two communities worked together. Given that reality, it was critical that the local arts community stand on its' own feet and begin to take responsibility for growing its' own art scene and resources.
The specifics of my accomplishments are documented in the various articles written at the time. They include information about my art and community projects, as well as my job position as PR/Communications Director of the Arts Council of Greater New Haven. I was also the first artist to be hired by the Arts Council, after serving on their Board of Directors.
I affectionately recall that decade as a truly amazing time, which included many meaningful individual and collaborative projects. As I expressed in the article "Beverly Richey: A Prime Mover Moves On" by Mimsie Coleman, however, it became clear that it was time to move in a new direction. I left the New Haven community in 1994. I consciously chose to explore the Midwest, which seemed and has until recently, proved itself to be more openly committed to the concept of public rather than private. I have had the pleasure of living in a very small rural community as well as the capital of Wisconsin, Madison. I am now settled in the very urban and diverse city of Milwaukee. I continue to use and explore my art as tools to organize and expose contemporary issues. This has become particularly important in the last couple of years, as the political climate changes.
In 2005, I returned to school. Initially, I was planning to enter a fine arts program, but found that my interest in Art History was persistent. Slowly, I began to merge my art making with study and found this combination to be most satisfying.
During this time, I re-developed a collaboration practice at the Jonathan Shor Gallery in New York. These digital moving media work executed at this time required a high degree of technical ability and were created as part of numerous collaborative projects.
In the last year, I have contributed to the creation of the Gays Mills Arts Collective in the small, western Wisconsin town (which has been repeatedly uprooted by floods) of Gays Mills.
OTHER ARTICLES RELATED TO RICHEY'S ART/LIFE/WORK
OTHER ARTICLES RELATED TO RICHEY'S ART/LIFE/WORK
