This is me last night towards the end of the opening, trying on Norene Leddy’s Platforms – art-activism-shoes designed as a project to raise awareness for violence against street workers. They’ve got GPS which means they are blinky, along with other impressive technical attributes. (And yes, that is a new and almost-complete half sleeve tattoo on my left arm. I’ll post more detailed pictures when its 100% done).
The opening was a definite success. A few pieces of art sold, and their new owners paid right there and then, which was pretty awesome and amazing. Also, I am really excited about the fact that I no longer spend the few hours before an event terrified that no one will show. The opening was consistently packed with some familiar faces, along with a lot of people I’ve never seen before, which is pretty awesome. I spent most of my time in the gallery space, schmoozing and answer questions. In the space directly below the gallery, we had the bar and the dildo show set up. A lot of the dildos sold in the silent auction, which was pretty awesome.
If you weren’t there, or if you were and didn’t pick one up, you can download the Sex Worker Visions II program as a PDF by clicking HERE. Note that you can’t browse it online by clicking the link, it’s download only. The program has my curator’s statement, plus artist bios and statements about their work. I’ve posted the curator’s statement below. You might recognize it as a more developed version of a blog post I wrote a few weeks ago:
Recently I went to the Brooklyn Museum’s new Elizabeth A. Sackler Feminist Art Center and got a little misty-eyed at the display of so much deliriously fun, aggressive, and smart art by feminists produced over the past thirty-odd years. As I walked through the exhibition of photography, installations, and video art, I thought a lot about what it would take to have a public institution devote space to the celebration of art, writing, and culture produced by sex workers, feminist or not. The answer is probably: a lot.
But sex workers aren’t waiting around for a cultural shift; we’re creating one. Sex workers have been participants in art for centuries. It doesn’t take much to argue that the history of Western art, at least when it comes to the female form, was built on the backs of prostitutes who doubled as artists’ models and muses. But being represented by other people – painters, photographers, or writers in mainstream publications – gets tiresome. They never quite “get it.â€
That’s why $pread Magazine exists: to provide sex workers with a forum to express themselves. But we recognize that words aren’t everyone’s favorite medium, which is why Sex Worker Visions has become an annual event.
This year’s exhibition includes fine art by a handful of sex workers through whose eyes you may see things a little differently. We’ve also included a collection of hand-decorated dildos, created by groups of sex workers who assembled at events of camaraderie and craftiness in New York, Cleveland, Chicago, Toronto, and Montreal.
Who knows, maybe someday there will be a big, publicly funded building with archives of sex worker culture and history. If that happens, I’m willing to bet that sex workers themselves will be at the forefront of its development.
Audacia Ray
Curator, Sex Worker Visions II
Executive Editor, $pread Magazine
May 1, 2007
5:51 pm
This year’s show was great. And I like the space a lot better than last year. I am also wondering if I won that silent auction item…
6:32 pm
Nice to see you again– very glad I stopped by, Lux told me about it just in time. I love love love the art-activism-shoes.
11:34 pm
I wish I had gotten to be there!
But Im really glad to hear it was a success. I knew it would be tho, things like this just get better and better as the years go on
9:44 am
Congrats on another successful show! I am ever astonished at your talent for getting people to show up. It’s a gift, and not one you should take lightly!
RE: Cultural Shift
I think it’s worth considering that if society were ever to be changed to the point that it might be possible to have a Sex Workers’ Art exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum, it might very well mean that a Sex Worker’s Art exhibit would no more meaningful than a Plumbers’ Art Exhibit, or a Dentists’ Art Exhibit.
2:04 pm
Congrats!! This is so awesome.
2:05 pm
Tony: I get your point, but it’s worth noting that I, for one, would be interested to see a plumber’s art exhibit.
5:45 pm
And you look as lovely as ever, sorry I couldn’t make it but I am sure it is bigger and better than last year’s show!