September 10 - October 22, 2020
B.A.S.E., which stands for Boycott Annual Student Exhibition, is an exhibition and fundraiser in response to the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts Annual Student Exhibition. Composed of recent MFA, BFA and Certificate graduates, B.A.S.E. is a reaction to PAFA’s administration censoring faculty and staff who signed a petition for Philly Arts in support of Black Lives Matter. B.A.S.E is a show of solidarity to students, faculty, and alumni who are demanding that the PAFA Board of Trustees restructure their leadership and addresses its own white supremacist and patriarchal history. A complete and detailed list of demands made by PAFA students and alumni can be found at www.changeatpafa.com.
The Annual Student Exhibition is framed as a monumental time for students at PAFA. The ASE at PAFA is the largest fundraiser PAFA holds each year, with member preview tickets going as high as 25,000 and bringing in over 1million dollars to the school. The participating and boycotting PAFA students of the class of 2020 have taken many avenues of protest, such as drafting letters, creating off campus exhibitions, or marking their works as “not for sale” so as to financially distance themselves from PAFA. B.A.S.E. acts in support of students, faculty, staff and alumni who demand that the PAFA Board of Trustees support Black Lives Matter, create an anti-racist environment within the insitution and defund the police by removing board members who have police affiliations. We will continue to promote this cause by donating a percentage of all sold works to BIPOC and LGBTQIA-POC organizations.
Special Thanks to the Anna Zorina Gallery for supporting our protest.
