Jasmin Hernandez of Gallery Gurls
Jasmin Hernandez is the founder of Gallery Gurls, a newsfeed that spotlights women, POC & QTPOC artists.
We have been obsessed with her work since Instagram suggested her as a friend to follow (which, of course we did). A native New Yorker, Jasmin is paving the way to expose and propel women, POC and QTPOC artists while also becoming a leading advocate and voice. We asked Jasmin a few questions about herself and what inspires her, among other things.
Briefly introduce yourself. When & why did you start Gallery Gurls?
I’m a native New Yorker of Dominican descent who has loved fashion, art, and contemporary culture since I was of reading age. My education at Parsons led me into fashion and editorial, where I produced fashion shows and photo shoots for magazines. Due to my creative career, I was always in the art space, attending gallery openings and constantly visiting museums in New York and beyond. In 2012, I was ready to start writing about art, there was so much art I had seen, too many artists I loved, and a strong sense of taste. Gallery Gurls became a platform to write about women, POC, and QTPOC artists who explore gender, race, class, sexuality, pop culture, and feminism.
“All of these women artists and their work speak to subjects I’m deeply interested in like black wealth, women’s bodies, queerness, fantasy, beauty, racial identity, gentrification, Latinx culture, and women’s sexual empowerment.”
Can you share your top 10 gurl artists at the current moment.
All of these women artists and their work speak to subjects I’m deeply interested in like black wealth, women’s bodies, queerness, fantasy, beauty, racial identity, gentrification, Latinx culture, and women's sexual empowerment.
If you had to pick, what would be the top 5 museums or gallery every gurl must visit?
What question haven't you been asked that you would like to be asked about?
Probably, “What was one of the first exhibits that blew you away?” In March of 2005, there was a Basquiat retrospective at the Brooklyn Museum. That was really major and a show I saw several times while it was up. I had never seen so many paintings by him in one space, and I had just returned from Lugano where I had seen his early SAMO work. Seeing two back-to-back Basquiat exhibits in the same month was a mind-altering experience.
Where do you see Gallery Gurls going next?
Funding! Funding to pay writers, hire more writers, produce more content, start video content, and perhaps an anthology of some notable interviews on the website in a book format. I’m in the midst of applying for grants, so let’s see what happens.
Hiba Schahbaz and Maria Liebana
Remy Bennett, filmmaker of Under Her Skin documentary
Interview by Diane Lindquist
Photography by Jasmin Hernandez, Tamara Beckwith, & Rex Features