La MaMa La Galleria Presents 'Are We There Yet?' Panel on Women and Visual Arts 3/1

In honor of Women's History Month, panelists K. Savage, Vikki Law and Kimberely Mackenzie will discuss art and accessibility, art as a form of empowerment that effects community change, and the contributions of women artists specific to New York City in 'Are We There Yet?'. This panel discussion and reception is a companion event to the pop-up solo exhibition of new work by K. Savage in the East 4th Street Cultural District as part of the ArtUp program. The panel will be moderated by Joyce Manolo of ArtForward. Produced by Fourth Arts Block's ArtUp program in collaboration with ArtForward. There is a $3 suggested donation to expand ArtUp program in the Lower East Side.

'Are We There Yet?' will be held Monday, March 1, 2010. Doors open at 7:00PM, and the panel will start promptly 7:30-8:15PM (with a  15 minute Q&A). The panel will take place at La MaMa La Galleria, located at 6 East 1st Street b. Bowery & 2nd Avenue in Manhattan.  Participants include K. Savage, Vikki Law and Kimberely Mackenzie. The moderator will be Joyce Manalo, Curator of ArtUp.

For more information visit http://www.lamama.org/.

K. Savage currently lives in Brooklyn. Her inspiration is founded on the historical activist and bohemian milieu of the Lower East Side. She is an active community artist who believes in preserving humanity in the arts. In a selfless effort to provide opportunities for other artists, she founded "Subject to Change", an artist collective that is founded on the basis of activism, community, and art. Since 2008, she became a member of the visual arts collective at ABC No Rio and an artist assistant to Jacob Hashimoto.

Victoria Law is a writer, photographer, zinester and mother. She has been involved with community arts center ABC No Rio since 1995, helping to build its photo darkroom and coordinating its free youth programs. Since 2002, she has worked with women incarcerated nationwide to produce the zine Tenacious: Art and Writings from Women in Prison. Her book, Resistance Behind Bars: The Struggles of Incarcerated Women, is the culmination of 8 years of research, writing and listening to the stories of women incarcerated nationwide.

Kimberley Roode Mackenzie is currently a graduate student in Arts Administrationa nd Arts Education Teachers College, Columbia University, where she studies the relationship between art education &self-esteem and leadership skills for young girls. She currently works with Artistic Noise, an organization providing art education for incarcerated youth, and recently produced the Vagina Monologues for Columbia University.

Joyce Manalo is an independent curator and founder of ArtForward. She is committed to bringing a larger audience to experience works of artists, in order to perpetuate an appreciation for the visual arts in the Lower East Side. Some of her contributions include writing about art & process, documenting artists, curating exhibitions, and producing art events in New York City and the Hudson Valley. She has curated gallery shows at Leo Fortuna Gallery and ARTJAIL; public art shows atABC No Rio, Fourth Arts Block's (FAB) ArtUp, Governer's Island through FIGMENT, and Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art (HVCCA).

The La MaMa gallery is reopening after a 2 year renovation. While the gallery building once stood alone on the block it is now surrounded by the one of the largest redevelopment programs in New York City's history. The improved appearance of this block gives a new vitality to an already dynamic neighborhood and provides new audiences for the artists we exhibit. La MaMa's La Galleria (a not-for-profit gallery) was opened in the late 1980's. The Gallery's mission is an extension of the La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club's mission to exhibit as many artists and art forms as possible. We exhibit a wide variety of artists at various stages of their careers. The gallery is a place where artistic experimentation is nurtured.