The “SHADE” of it all: how an artist I admired manipulated and exploited me.
By: Darryl Deangelo Terrell
Tags: Shade, Chicago, New York City, Artist, Detroit

I feel like I need to finally tell a story of how Rashaad Newsome played in my face in 2017, and how if I would’ve followed my first mind life would prob be different. It was my last year of grad school, I was a member of the organization called Parlor Room; Parlor Room is a Photo Grad Student ran visiting artist program at SAIC in Chicago. I was on the board for Parlor Room, which meant I had a say on who to get to the school, organizing promoting of artist talks and studio visits, everything.

This is when I grew a strong love for Art Programming.

We had booked Rashaad to do studio visits, he was the only black queer artist we had booked(truly a reflection of the program at the time). There was supposed to be 2 more black people to come (two Curator) but Naomi Beckwith canceled the last min due to a family emergency, and then there Yesomi Umolu who was just rude to students, and was texting on her phone during studio visits, I guess it was a bust time for her.

After a summer of organizing Visiting Artist, we had finally gotten everything squared away, Rashaad was coming to Chicago, doing studio visits with Grad Students in the photo department, and I made sure, I got a time slot with him So we have a studio visit, it went well, honestly it was amazing, and very affirming we talked about music and pop culture, Queer art, and performance, storytelling our collective love for CAKESDAKILLA, it went well. In conversation about my work, Rashaad brought up how he really enjoyed my work, and how he thinks it important to make work that is both a reflection of society and visually pleasing to the eye so that the work could sell.

Before the end of the studio visit, Rashaad asked me about my post MFA plans, where I planned on living, what residencies I was going to apply to, etc, I told him I was thinking of moving to Philly because it’s cheaper than NYC, has a great arts community, and it’s close to NYC, to that he responded, “if you wanna be in NYC, why not just move to NYC” (need I remind you, I don’t come from money, and I’m thinking rationally), I tell him “I can’t afford that”, she responds “you could if you have support” so I’m in my head like “oh word” he then says

I do need a new studio assistant for some big projects I have coming up in London, and some other museums around the county, come be my studio assistant, I’ll pay you, and I own a duplex in Queens I can rent out to you.

I’m like okay, say less. It felt like the universe was working on my side so I’m happy, after the studio visit I walked him over to where his Artist talk was to be held, followed by a group Dinner to Sushi… mind you I’m on cloud nine because WOW, but I ain’t telling no one not even my momma, not yet at least. So like a month later he calls me wanted to ask me some questions, mostly about my photoshop skills, followed by emails of PNG files so that I can reproduce a work of he’s I had by the end of that weekend to do it, alone with other questions about my organization skills. I got the reproduction to him in like 5 hours, he was impressed and was telling me how I would be a great studio assistant, and here I go, excited as fuck.

A few days later Rashaad tells me that he was invited to be a part of the “Delectricty” festival in Detroit (my hometown) and that he would love it if I came and assisted him during the week leading up to the performance, I said yes, cause DUH! So the rest of the semester is going, I’m preparing for my thesis show, and graduation, I was living in an apartment that was so damn cheap, and only cost me 333 a month for my room. I was just offered a job working for a public access TV station that provided camera lessons to community members so that they could produce their own community content, I was even invited to a Studio Residency at Hyde Park Art Center and shit was looking NICE! Need I remind you all of this was happening before graduation, before “Delectricity” before everything. Rashaad is still telling me that I’m going to be his studio assistant and that I would be starting in September, after “Delectricty”

So Graduation comes, and because I’m “Guaranteed” a studio assistant position I’ve left my cheap ass apartment, turned down an amazing job that was starting me off at 24 bucks an hour, and I turned down the studio Residency to move to NYC, and be his studio Assistant. As the summer approaches, Rashaad goes MIA, I haven’t heard from him, I’ve already left Chicago, and moved to Detroit, living with my mom to save money to move to NYC, also to be there for “Delectricity”. I send multiple emails asking questions, like do you need any paperwork from me, do you need any preparation before you get to Detroit, etc. Like I was ready to put in WORK!, okay! Weeks passed, and I finally get an email, but not from him, but from his Studio Manager, it read: