Our Story
3rd Wrld is a cultural platform that gives voice and visibility to creatives of colour that exist on the fringes of the Western World. We want to draw attention to the talent across overlooked continents such as Africa, Asia, Caribbean, Latin America, The Middle East (and their diasporas). For us, to be 3rd Wrld is “to shoot through the soil head-first from the root of the earth; to exist boldly against the ‘cul de sac’ of debt and turmoil left by colonial legacy.”
A recent study showed that over 80% of American artists represented by top New York galleries are white and 70% male. Which means that Asian (8.1%), African (8.8%), Latino (2.1%), Middle Eastern (1%), Pacific Islanders (0.2%) and Native American artists (0.1%) are struggling to reach a 20% mark, even though combined they comprise the majority of New York residents.
According to Artnet, works by African American artists account for a mere 1.2% of the global auction market, while works by women amount to just 2% of auction sales.
