Destinee Ross-Sutton

ART ADVISER, CURATOR AND GALLERIST

IIn a year when racial and social inequities became painfully clear, Destinee Rosssutton forged space in the insular art world for Black artists to thrive—with equity. When the art adviser, curator, and artist advocate was asked by Christie’s in June 2020 to cocurate a virtual exhibition of 22 artists of African descent, in which 100% of the proceeds would go directly to the artists or their reps, she was apprehensive. Proceeds are one thing. But what about the secondary market, where the original buyer sells the work at auction for a profit? Shouldn’t the artists get a portion of that, too? This entrenched system, she says, is “another form of exploitation of Black labor— really, labor of anyone.” Ross-sutton negotiated an agreement with the auction house stating that a prospective buyer must retain a purchased work for three to five years; if sold after that, 15% of the resale proceeds would go directly to the artist. Plus, the artist or their reps would have the right of refusal, meaning they could decline to sell to a would-be buyer. The role of the agreement, she says, was “to make [buyers] aware of their function within the art world,” which should be supporting the artist. Ultimately, it worked: the pieces sold for more than $300,000 collectively, and another Christie’s show, a physical exhibition and auction, is set for August. Rosssutton now knows of at least 10 galleries that have begun to employ the same work retention agreement, including her own—in April, the Ross-sutton Gallery opened in NYC. More than

120 works have been sold so far.