A new exhibit highlights 10 creatives of color who are ‘Unapologetically Here’

By Marisa Kalil-Barrino

Jean-Pierre (Photo by Natiah Jones)

As a Black artist from East Flatbush, Bianca Jean-Pierre often found herself as one of the only women who looked like her in the workspace. Despite having had prestigious internships at publications like Harper’s Bazaar and with designers like Alexander Wang, she never felt fully heard when trying to give her perspective. Today, the Bed-Stuy-based creative is reclaiming her and other artists’ narratives to build a new multicultural media site, Sheer.

Launched in 2019, Sheer — the name is a play on the ideas of transparency and being seen — brings attention to artists, especially women of color, across the board, through videos, photos, and events. Jean-Pierre has herself interviewed artists across disciplines, including musicians Doechii, Jordyn Davis, and Ogi, with a focus on an array of social issues, including cultural identity, colorism, racism, and gentrification.

Because she grew up with immigrant parents, Jean-Pierre says she was urged to pursue a more “practical” career. And because she grew up with the twin pressures of finding that career and a lack of diversity in the workplace, she found her own way through collaboration.

For the first time, Sheer is holding their first art exhibition “Unapologetically Here” at art organization Chashama’s Brooklyn Bridge Park waterfront gallery until January 8.

“The name of the exhibition is an affirmation empowering our community to pursue their true calling and choice of expression and confidently take up space,” Jean-Pierre says. “There is enough pressure to mold ourselves into who society believes we should be, while Sheer encourages freedom of expression and celebrating ourselves unapologetically … You’re free to exist in all your nuance, and complexities and explore the identity that resonates best with you.”

The exhibition, nestled between Piers 5 and 6 at 1 Brooklyn Bridge Park, tells the stories of 10 Black, indigenous, Latinx, and Asian artists through their work. Artists from Iran, Dominican Republic, Indonesia, India, and Haiti, work in photography, paintings, illustrations, and more, exploring themes of empowerment, feminism, and creative expression through their cultural identities.

One of them, Jenny Desrosiers, is a Brooklyn-based cinematographer and photographer from Boston. Their “Pou Reverans Matriyach La” — “For the Reverence of the Matriarch” in Haitian creole — is a series of portraits, shot during a summer in Miami, of matriarchal figures in Caribbean culture.

“I’m someone who was raised by my grandmother, my mother, and one of my older cousins as a collective. In turn, I aided in raising my own younger siblings as well. The women in my family have been the main pillar that has kept the unit together,” Desrosiers says. “I hope the outcome of this exhibition will be that folks will be able to come into a space and view work created by Black and POC artists and if someone has wanted to create art or even wanted to have their own art show, they see that it is something that is attainable.”

In addition to displaying multicultural art, Sheer and Chashama aim to abate gatekeeping in the art industry by hosting art classes and workshops with the goal of creating more access and exposure of art to women of color and non-binary artists.

“A lot of times Black and POC artists are kept out of the fine art spaces,” Desrosiers points out. “Of course, this is something that is slowly changing but I believe that it is important to have shows and spaces like this that are curated by us and feature art by us.”

As for Jean-Pierre and the future of Sheer, “Unapologetically Here” is only the first foray into events, she says.

“I definitely want … less of a digital focus on churning out more content, but instead shift to more partnerships centered on philanthropic initiatives that truly serve the community in real life,” she says. “I want to make real change and impact that genuinely and literally makes people’s lives better and not just performative online.”