William “Billy” Gustavo Franklin is an educator and independent art curator, best described as a conversationalist, or maybe even a conduit. Born and raised in Caracas, Venezuela, he’s lived in Minnesota for a long time, and teaches at the Minneapolis College of Art Design, Dunwoody College of Technology, and as a part-time educator at the Walker Art Center. Billy seeks humility, vulnerability, and constructive critical experiences no matter what project he’s working on. In 2022, he shared his skills as a tour guide for Mestizaje: Intermix/Remix at the M during Northern Spark in 2022.
Billy Franklin giving a tour of Mestizaje at Northern Spark in 2022
Billy Franklin on a recent visit to the M
Billy Franklin taking a behind-the-scenes look at Amoke Awele Kubat’s Night Mothering at the M during Im/perfect Slumbers
These days, he is working with friend and colleague Zamara Cuyún and a group of local Latina and Latinx artists on the exhibition Latina and Latinx MN: Re/claiming Space in Times of Change. This exhibition will celebrate art created by self-identifying Latina women and non-binary Latinx Minnesota-based artists with ancestral roots in Latin America. It will take place at the Catherine G. Murphy Gallery of Saint Catherine University in St. Paul in the fall of 2024. Billy says of Zamara, who has a skyway installation coming soon to the M, “she is a great artist and cultural leader.”
The community curation that Billy and Zamara are tapping into for Latina and Latinx MN: Re/claiming Space in Times of Change channels a series of connected messages, truths, and realities through multiple curatorial voices. The M is in constant pursuit of such collaborative curation, and Billy says, “It’s a modality that will continue—it has really good benefits and will last.”
Billy is invested in improving the arts community and connections within it, without getting in the way of whatever momentum he creates. As he says, “I’m constantly connecting people with people and opportunities. If there’s something political about this goal, it is to promote more inclusion, more representation in all spaces.”
This fall, he is offering a workshop, Criticism as Dialogue, to members at the White Bear Center for the Arts. As Billy says, “art criticism needs some rejuvenation.” Community meaning-making and communal criticism take the edge off high-falutin art critique by turning to conversation.
Billy recently curated a coffee table book on Latino, Latina, and Latinx artists from Minnesota entitled Latin Art in Minnesota—Conversations and What’s Next, published by Afton Press this year. Twelve artists are featured in the book, interviewed by other community leaders, artists, and activists from Minnesota and beyond.
The book represents a strong moment in a movement. Billy says, “I chose twelve artists that I had the privilege of knowing for years, a representation of established and emerging voices, all contemporary. I curated the concept of the book, set the stage, and immediately laid down the keys at the gate for others to talk.”
The book, which you can find online, includes a number of artists whose work has been featured at the M, including Luis Fitch, Dougie Padilla, Maria Cristina Tavera, and Xavier Tavera. Northfield Public Library is hosting an event on September 21, 2023, and The Grand Hand Gallery in Saint Paul another on September 28, 2023, at which you can hear more from Billy and some of the featured artists.
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