Park Avenue Armory to Debut New Commissions by 100 Women on Centennial of 19th Amendment

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.