Puzzles have come a long way from kittens and windmills, but the industry remains painfully lacking in diversity. Even new companies with beautiful, modern images have very few puzzles that feature people of color - either as artists or subjects. The art world has a similar issue with representation. Recent studies have found that over 85% of the work featured in major US museums belong to white artists, and that over 80% of American artists represented by top New York galleries are also white. When institutions struggle or fail to support artists of color, it severely impacts how they are able to cultivate capital and generate value. This then trickles down to us as consumers, continually influencing which artists we know and whose work matters.

Apostraphe Pizzles aims to bridge the gap of accessibility to fine art, and were created with the knowledge that the work of artists of color is valuable, desirable, and profitable. We believe that art appreciation is not only for the wealthy, and that the future of art consumerism is one in which everyone can participate. In punctuation and grammar, the apostrophe symbol is used to illustrate where there has been an omission (o'er), and to indicate possession or ownership (Bearden’s legacy). Our name draws its inspiration from this usage, fully articulating our desire to fill the void of diverse representation in the puzzle space, and to exhibit our pride in the creativity and contributions of contemporary artists of color.