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A Response To The Centennial of The 19th Amendment
At its fourth annual “Culture in a Changing America” symposium on Saturday, February 15, 2020, Park Avenue Armory, together with lead partner National Black Theatre and nine additional New York City-based cultural institutions, announced the lead group of artists they commissioned as part of the 100 Years | 100 Women initiative. In addition to the Armory and National Black Theatre, the commissioning institutions are: Apollo Theater; The Julliard School; La MaMa Experimental Theatre Company; 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.
Missouri became the 11th state to ratify the 19th Amendment with the signature of Governor Frederick Gardner. Suffragists worked from the grassroots up to accomplish their mission. Photo: Library of Congress
The discipline-spanning group of artists, who self-identify as women or gender non-binary, will create works in response to the centennial of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, which gave some women the right to vote. The commissioned projects—spanning visual arts, music, dance, film, photography, and performance—will be showcased in a major event on May 16, 2020 in the Armory’s Wade Thompson Drill Hall and historic rooms. Commissioned artists include: Sama Alshaibi, Murielle Borst-Tarrant/Safe Harbors Indigenous Collective, Zoë Buckman, Lady Dane Figueroa Edidi, Karen Finley, Ebony Noelle Golden, Chanon Judson, L’Rain, Shola Lynch, Meshell Ndegeocello, Toshi Reagon, Jaime Sunwoo, Sahar Ullah, Carrie Mae Weems, Deborah Willis, and many more.
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. This year’s “Culture in a Changing America” symposium, also part of the series, included conversations, performances across artistic genres, and intimate salons reflecting on womanhood, citizenship, intersectional feminism, and the myriad ways in which artists navigate these issues.
100 Years | 100 Women is the latest Armory-hosted convening of creatives, cultural leaders, and community members, following Theaster Gates’ “Black Artists Retreat 2019: Sonic Imagination,” which brought together more than 300 black artists and allies for a weekend of conversations, performances, and reflections; a Lenape Pow Wow in 2018, the first gathering of Lenape leaders on Manhattan Island since the 1700s; and 2017’s “The Shape of Things,” a day-long creative reflection on the political and social climate in America, curated by former Armory Artist-in-Residence Carrie Mae Weems.
“The Armory is so pleased to be able to bring together artists and thought leaders to respond to the issues that shape our society. We, along with our dynamic group of partner organizations, are excited to see how these diverse artistic voices will respond to the realities and consequences of the 19th Amendment, passed a century ago,” said Rebecca Robertson, Founding President and Executive Producer of Park Avenue Armory.
“We are excited to work alongside Park Avenue Armory to empower these artists whose work will enrich and educate the public,” said Sade Lythcott, CEO of National Black Theatre. “As with the symposium, this celebration helps place the spotlight on artists whose work is in keeping with NBT’s tradition of using art and culture to help push forward messages of healing and liberation for all.”
Together, this cohort of institutions has commissioned work from the following artists, some of whom are creating solo works, while others are collaborating with other artists, ensembles, and collectives. Additional artists will be named in the lead up to the event:
- Abdu Ali, Music & Literature
- Sama Alshaibi, Visual Art
- Ngozi Anyanwu, Theatre
- Armory Arts Education, Multi-disciplinary
- Zalika Azim, Visual Art
- Stefanie Batten Bland / SBB Company, Dance Theatre
- Stephanie Berger, Photography
- Hope Boykin, Dance
- Mahogany L. Browne, Poetry & Literature
- Zoë Buckman, Visual Art
- Rashida Bumbray, Performance & Visual Art
- Xu Cheng, Music
- Elizabeth Colomba, Visual Art
- Courtney Cook, Performance & Dance
- Renee Cox, Visual Art
- Lady Dane Figueroa Edidi, Performance Art & Literature
- Jennifer Ling Datchuk, Visual Art
- Helga Davis, Music
- Rose DeSiano, Visual Art
- LaTasha N. Nevada Diggs, Multi- disciplinary
- Abby Dobson, Conceptual & Performing Art
- Nekisha Durrett, Visual Art
- Adama Delphine Fawundu, Visual Art
- Gayle Fekete, Dance
- Jingyi Feng, Dance
- Karen Finley, Performance Art
- Ebony Noelle Golden & Betty's Daughter Arts Collaborative, Multi-disciplinary
- Jasmine Hearn, Performance & Dance
- Marguerite Hemmings, Dance
- Charlene Incarnate, Drag & Performance
- Val Jeanty and Risha Rox, Sound Art & Performance Art
- Chanon Judson, Dance
- Tendayi Kuumba, Dance
- L’Rain, Music
- Thapelo Masita, Music
- Muriel Miguel / Spiderwoman Theater, Theatre & Performance
- Vernice Miller / A Laboratory for Actor Training, Theatre & Performance
- Briana Del Mundo, Dance
- Love Muwwakkil, Performance & Dance
- Meshell Ndegeocello & Staceyann Chin, Music & Poetry
- Lorie Novak, Visual Art
- Lindsay Phillips, Dance
- Toshi Reagon, Music
- Kyle Ritenauer, Music
- Yelaine Rodriguez, Visual Art
- Huang Ruo, Music
- Hannah Rosenzweig & Wendy Sachs, Film
- Lois Weaver and Peggy Shaw / Split Britches, Theatre & Performance
- Karina Aguilera Skvirsky, Multi-disciplinary
- Dianne Smith, Visual Art
- Sonic and Womxyn Amplify Vibrations Collective, Music
- Samantha Speis, Performance & Dance
- Amy Rox Surratt / Mistakes Made Theatrical Co, Theatre & Performance
- Jaime Sunwoo, Multimedia & Performance
- Lourdes Kalichi’naru Lebron, Michelle Lopez & Kasibahagua Taíno Cultural Society, Ceremonial Taino dance
- Murielle Borst-Tarrant/Safe Harbors Indigenous Collective, Theatre & Performance
- Cyrie Topete, Choreography
- Katherine Toukhy, Mixed Media
- Carmelita Tropicana, Performance Art
- Sahar Ullah, Theatre
- Imani Uzuri, Music
- Elaisa Van Der Kust, Performance & Dance
- Mikaila Ware, Performance & Dance
- Angela Wee, Music
- Carrie Mae Weems, Muliti-disciplina
- Mimi Lien, Architecture & Set Design
- Shola Lynch, Film
- Alicia Graf Mack, Dance
- Tsedaye Makonnen, Visual Art
- Deborah Willis, Visual Art
- Zhou Yi, Music
- Bora Yoon, Music
- Pamela Z performed by Amanda Gookin (Forward Music Project), Music
