Park Avenue Armory to Debut New Commissions by 100 Women on Centennial of 19th Amendment
Artists include Carrie Mae Weems, Deborah Willis, Toshi Reagon, Zoë Buckman, Andrea Jenkins and more.

On August 18, marking the centennial of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, Park Avenue Armory and lead partner National Black Theatre, together with nine other New York City cultural institutions, will unveil the next phase of the 100 Years | 100 Women initiative. The project was launched in February 2020 with a day-long symposium and the announcement of the 100 commissioned artists and cultural creators who were invited to respond to and interrogate the complex legacy of women's suffrage through their creative practices. In the time since, the creation of new works by the participants-including Zoë Buckman, Staceyann Chin, Karen Finley, Ebony Noelle Golden, Andrea Jenkins, Meshell Ndegeocello, Toshi Reagon, Martha Redbone, Carrie Mae Weems, and Deborah Willis-has been shaped by the COVID-19 pandemic, social distancing, #BlackLivesMatter, and a divisive election season. In lieu of the in-person celebration of the commissions that was planned for the spring, the Armory is hosting an online launch party streamed on YouTube on August 18 at 2pm, which will feature a sneak peek at select commissioned works, remarks by artists and partner organizations, and appearances by special guests including Maya Wiley, Susan Herman, Jari Jones, Tantoo Cardinal, Rita Dove, Catherine Gray, and the Kasibahagua Taíno Cultural Society. The event will also include the premiere of a short film by Armory/Museum of the Moving Image-commissioned filmmaker Shola Lynch documenting the inspirations and processes behind the participants' contributions, as well as the ways in which the issues of the current moment have informed their work.
Immediately following the launch party, the Armory will publicly debut an interactive digital archive of the initiative that provides access for audiences to explore each participant's profile and creative work, as well as additional resources. On this website, audiences will be able to view all the projects created for the initiative, including:Hold on Tight, Carrie Mae Weems' stirring video portrait honoring her mother
The installation The Right to Vote: 'Women's Work Never Praised/Never Done!' A Reimagining by Deborah Willis, which is comprised of photos and images focused on women's labor, dress and domestic work alongside images of Black women suffragists in the early 20th century
A portrait of 100 Indigenous Women of Turtle Island (North America) created by Indigenous beadwork maker Joselyn Kaxhyek Borrero (Tlingit of Yukon, Canada) and Roberto Borrero (kasike (chief) of the Guainía Taíno tribal community)
The Last Gasp, a video created by Split Britches duo Peggy Shaw and Lois Weaver that includes meditations on the last breaths of victims of police brutality
Equality Tea, a performance by Jaime Sunwoo drawing parallels between the fraught histories of the tea trade and the suffrage movement
A powerful self-portrait series by disability inclusion activists, including actresses Marilee Talkington and Christine Bruno
The Future of Feminism Is Only As Powerful As the Future of Anti-Racism, an original piece by artist and poet Cleo Wade, which articulates a call to action asking us to build holistically and intersectionally
"On August 18, with our lead partner National Black Theatre and nine other New York institutions, the Armory will unveil 100 commissioned works in video, spoken work, theater, photography, dance and other art forms by 100 extraordinarily talented women artists and cultural creators. The works reflect not only the complexity of women's suffrage, but also the issues of rights and recognition in the era of COVID-19, Black Lives Matter protests, and the lead-up to a critical presidential election," said Rebecca Robertson, Founding President and Executive Producer of Park Avenue Armory . "Collectively, the works form a profound and thought-provoking archive from an unprecedented time that will live beyond the unveiling and watch party. We are so grateful to the artists and to the institutional partners for their commitment, perseverance, and insights."
"This project is an incredible opportunity of uplifting and connecting communities together. In a time of so much civic unrest, this is our present pulse, our day-to-day mission: knocking down these walls and shining lights in the darkest corners of our own stories. We are honored to work in partnership with the Park Avenue Armory and nine other fantastic sister organizations to present this event which stands at the nexus of gender, identity, and representation. Through this short, the archive, and website we aspire to help us as a community to continue a conversation our founder, Dr. Barbara Ann Teer, and her contemporaries were part of more than fifty years ago," said Sade Lythcott, CEO of National Black Theatre.
Commissioned artists, activists, scholars, community leaders, and collectives include:
100 Indigenous Women, Multidisciplinary
17 Armory Youth Corp students, Multidisciplinary
Abdu Ali, Music
Sama Alshaibi, Visual Art
Zalika Azim, Visual Art
Lucas Balmaceda Pascal, Drama
Jennifer Baumgardner, Journalism
Stephanie Berger, Photography
Zoë Buckman, Visual Art
Christine Bruno, Acting/Disability Activist
Rashida Bumbray, Performance Art
Vinie Burrows, Performance/Activism
Jayla Chee, Music
Sofiya Cheyenne, Performance/Activism
Staceyann Chin, Spoken Word
Olivia Chindamo, Music
Elizabeth Colomba, Visual Art
Renee Cox, Visual Art
Jennifer Ling Datchuk, Visual Art
Caridad (La Bruja) De La Luz, Spoken Word
Rose DeSiano, Visual Art
LaTasha N. Nevada Diggs, Multidisciplinary
Catherine D'Ignazio, Data Literacy
Abby Dobson, Sonic Conceptual Performance Art
Nekisha Durrett, Visual Art
Joan Dwiartanto, Dance
Lady Dane Figueroa Edidi, Performance
Adama Delphine Fawundu, Visual Art
Gayle Fekete, Dance
Karen Finley, Visual Art
Kaiama L. Glover, French & Africana Studies
Ebony Noelle Golden, Performance Art
Sarah Gooch, Music
Amanda Gookin, Music
Melissa Cobblah Gutierrez, Dance
Jasmine Hearn, Performance & Dance
Susan Herman, ACLU/Constitutional Law
Andrea Jenkins, Politics/Performance Art
Michi Jigarjian, Artist/Facilitator/Educator
Christine Jones, Scenic Design
Chanon Judson, Dance
Tendayi Kuumba, Dance
Kate Clarke Lemay, Museum Curation
Mimi Lien, Scenic Design/Architecture
Shola Lynch, Film
Tsedaye Makonnen, Visual Art
Love Muwwakkil, Dance
Premilla Nadasen, History of Race & Gender
Meshell Ndegeocello, Music
Lorie Novak, Visual Art
Zoe Obadia, Music
Michele Pred, Art/Activism
Alba Pujals-Roigé, Music
Toshi Reagon, Music
Martha Redbone, Music/Activism
Jewel Rodgers, Spoken Word
Yelaine Rodriguez, Visual Art
Hannah Rosenzweig, Film
Rhonda Ross, Multidisciplinary
Risha Rox, Interdisciplinary
Wendy Sachs, Film
Maggie Scrantom, Drama
Peggy Shaw, Theater
Lakshmi Shyamakrishnan, Acting
Karina Aguilera Skvirsky, Multidisciplinary
Samantha Speis, Dance
Jaime Sunwoo, Performance/Multimedia
Marilee Talkington, Acting/Disability Activist
Murielle Borst Tarrant, Theater
Henu Josephine Tarrant, Theater
Katherine Toukhy, Mixed Media
Carmelita Tropicana, Performance Art
S. Katy Tucker, Video/Projection Design
Sahar Ishtiaque Ullah, Theater
Imani Uzuri, Music
Elaisa Van Der Kust, Performance & Dance
Cleo Wade, Literature
Mikaila Ware, Performance & Dance
Lois Weaver, Theater
Carrie Mae Weems, Multidisciplinary
Lark White, Drama
Deborah Willis, Visual Art
Eryn Wise, Indigenous Media Curation
Pamela Z, Music/Composition
100 Years | 100 Women launched in February 2020 as part of the Armory's annual "Culture in a Changing America" symposium, which this year convened artists, activists, scholars, and civic and cultural leaders for a day of conversations, performances, and salons reflecting on womanhood, citizenship, intersectional feminism, and the myriad ways in which artists navigate these issues. Collectively, the eleven partner institutions nominated 100 artists, activists, scholars, students, and community leaders to respond to the centennial with new work to be presented as part of a gathering, showcase, and celebration originally scheduled to take place in the Armory's Wade Thompson Drill Hall this past spring. With the unforeseen impacts of COVID-19, which led to the cancellation of this in-person culminating event, the project and many of the commissioned works have evolved to respond to the volatile times in which it was created. 100 Years | 100 Women now acknowledges not only the fight for gender equality and women's right to vote, but also reckons with the long thread of history that has led us to this tumultuous moment, uplifting the voices of creatives, activists, and thought leaders working to unpack it.
In addition to Park Avenue Armory and National Black Theater, the group of commissioning partners includes Apollo Theater; The Juilliard School; La Mama Experimental Theatre Club; The Laundromat Project; The Metropolitan Museum of Art; Museum of the Moving Image; National Sawdust; New York University (Department of Photography and Imaging, Tisch School of the Arts; Office of Global Inclusion, Diversity, and Strategic Innovation; and Institute of African American Affairs & Center for Black Visual Culture); and Urban Bush Women. 100 Years | 100 Women is part of the Armory's Interrogations of Form conversation series, which unites artists, thought leaders, and social trailblazers for creative, multidimensional explorations of today's social and cultural landscape. Additional details will be announced at www.armoryonpark.org. To register to attend the viewing party, visit https://bit.ly/3i0tDOb.More Hot Stories For You

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