Community Highlights: Meet Patricia Andrews-Keenan of Pigment International

Today we’d like to introduce you to Patricia Andrews-Keenan.

Hi Patricia, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Reading and writing have been integral to who I am as a person. I was a fourth grader in love with books and reading and affirmed by those around me for that love.

I served on my high school newspaper and yearbook staff, I was editor of my HBCU College Newspaper The Gramblinite, and I wrote for newspapers and produced the company newsletter for my first job as a customer service rep.

My ability to write and craft a story allowed me to advance my career until I was responsible for all communications and community outreach for Chicagoland for one of the country’s major telecom firms.

I built my own media and PR firm, which I’ve run since 2008, and founded Pigment International ten years later in 2018. To now advance the Black art aesthetic by utilizing all those acquired skills is what I am supposed to be doing now. This work has been the apogee of my life. It melds all of my personal and career aspirations and experiences.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
After a long-standing career of 20 years, I was downsized from a position, assumed another, and was downsized from it. It necessitated my starting my own business in 2008 and founding a second business in 2018.

During our founding year, 2018, we mounted an exhibition during Art Miami that did not meet our sales or revenue projections. That was a financial setback for us, but we modified our approach and returned to Miami in 2019 and 2021.

We were barely two years old when Covid struck in 2020 so we had to pivot during 2020 and 2021. While we lost some momentum for our in-person events we were able to secure grant funds that allowed us to better manage our back-office technology.

We persist because we’ve seen a such positive reaction to the national and slowly becoming global platform we’ve created,

There are multiple pathways to success but you must do three things, be persistent, be reliable and be excellent at what you do.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Founded in 2018 Pigment International® is a Black woman-founded and led multi-media platform reporting on the art, people, issues, trends, and events shaping Black contemporary art and examining the linkages connecting historical and contemporary Black art. At Pigment International we tell stories!

We are the publishers of the award-winning Pigment Magazine, a glossy, oversized printed publication, and the digital publications The Pigment Daily, Pigment Weekly Newsletter, and ART, a digital magazine about Black artists.

We are conveners, bringing together the Black art ecosystem for inspiring, cross-generational dialogue. We are the founders of Black Fine Art Month®, which has been entered into the Congressional Record by Illinois Congresswoman Robin Kelly.

Since 2020, Pigment International has served as a media partner to EXPO Chicago, SOFA, The 57th Street Art Fair, and The Other Art Fair.

This April, Pigment Magazine traveled to Venice for the 57th Biennale dé Arte and our intent is to do a special issue of the magazine with an emphasis on Chicagoan Simone Leigh as the first Black woman to represent the U.S. at the Biennale.

Pigment International is a brand that extends to both print and online publications, art and merchandise sales, and events. All in the service of showcasing emerging and mid-career artists. The same applies to coverage of curators, collectors, and others in the Black art ecosystem. We are also interested in cultivating next-generation writers to tell these stories because of the perspective they bring. Art and activism are naturally linked, and the subject matter Black artists gravitate to often has a focus on racial equity. Helping artists to build their practices by gaining visibility through storytelling also contributes to their economic stability.

Who else deserves credit for your story?
Wow, there have been many from my high school librarian to my instructors at Grambling State University, to some amazing leaders in the telecom business many of who held titles including the president.

My Mom Pearline and Aunt Emma taught me the tenants for living I share with my grandson. Treat others as you would have them treat you.

My 4th grade English teacher (Mrs. Bowie) helped instill in me a love of reading and writing and it was where I first realized I had a skill something that set me apart.

My high school librarian (Mrs. Pitts) helped me apply to college, the first one in my family to do so.

My HBCU was warm and welcoming and there are so many people I thank one being the legendary coach Eddie Robinson’s wife Doris who was a mentor and inspiration. As editor of my college newspaper, I was involved in all the news of the day and took my first small aircraft ride to watch the installation of Grambling’s third president in 100 years.

My sorority advisor Dr. Anita Hill (not that one) was an inspiration with her quiet manners that showed me you can get a lot done without being the loudest in the room.

Robert Saxs was president of our national cable association and as his mentee, we made a significant change in our association’s (NAMIC) structure that stands today more than 20 years later.

Ruth Brumfield was a female exec who guided me in getting involved in different aspects of the cable industry which led to my elevation as a leader in two associations.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://pigmentintl.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pigmentintl/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PigmentIntl/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/PigmentIntl
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHkRcrVfLFfbqg3OLTYB-tQ