The de Young Museum, one of the most renowned fine arts museum based in San Francisco, has selected an art piece by alumna Cheryl Derricotte (M.R.P. ’89) to be featured at their open exhibition. Her piece, “2017 Year-at-a-Glance: 214 Dead Black Men” will be featured in the exhibition’s thematic section on art pieces exploring the Black Lives Matter Movement.
Derricotte’s piece takes a yearly planner and denotes with bullet symbols the days where Black men were slain. It takes a powerful stance on shedding light on the issues of police brutality to the museum space.
The exhibition encompasses artwork by local San Francisco artists, a collection that is untraditional for the museum, which commonly hosts exhibitions of internationally acclaimed artists. As the pandemic disrupts museums globally from exchanging international work, the move to showcase local artists is a move many hope will be a model for the museum to engage the local community.
“I hope it’s a partnership that continues and grows going forward,” Derricotte shared on the San Francisco Chronicle.
In her career, Derricotte combines her passion in the arts and community development and activism. She serves as Secretary for the Three Point Nine Art Collective, a group of Black artists who live and make art in San Francisco. At the national level, she is also the Chief Mindfulness Officer of Crux, a cooperative of Black artists working at the intersection of art and technology through immersive storytelling (VR). Additionally, she teaches other artists how to apply for art-based grants, and applying to residencies and shows.
Her recent awards include the Vermont Studio Center Residency (2020/2021), Antenna Paper Machine Residency (New Orleans), San Francisco Individual Artist Commission, and the Puffin Foundation Grant (all 2019/2020). She is also the recipient of the Hemera Foundation Tending Space Fellowship; the Rick and Val Beck Scholarship for Glass; Emerging Artist at the Museum of the African Diaspora and the Art Alliance for Contemporary Glass’ Visionary Scholarship and a D.C. Commission on the Arts & Humanities/ National Endowment for the Arts Artist Fellowship Grant.
To learn more about her art and community development work, check out her website at CherylDerricotteStudio.com.