Decolonial Artmaking and Emotional Labor in the 2020s

Rachel Minott's essay, published by Afterall on 14 April 2021, explores decolonial artmaking through the lens of emotional labor, drawing on Audre Lorde's 1977 essay 'Poetry is not a Luxury'. Minott argues that decolonial practice must center care, connection, and communal learning over capitalist productivity and institutional hierarchies. She uses personal conversations with her uncle and partner to illustrate how feeling can be a tool for translation and resistance. The essay questions the sustainability of giving oneself to art, comparing it to giving blood, and advocates for radical self-care, boundary-setting, and ethical consumption. It was originally part of ArtSchool's 'Decolonisation in the 2020s' series, in partnership with Museu de Arte de São Paulo, UAL's Decolonising Arts Institute, and Goldsmiths Department of Visual Cultures.