Commissioned Artists Announced by Park Avenue Armory for 100 YEARS | 100 WOMEN INITIATIVE

At its fourth annual "Culture in a Changing America" symposium on Saturday, 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.

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 leadup 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

Mimi Lien, Architecture & Set Design

Shola Lynch, Film

Alicia Graf Mack, Dance

Tsedaye Makonnen, Visual Art

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-disciplinary

Deborah Willis, Visual Art

Zhou Yi, Music

Bora Yoon, Music

Pamela Z performed by Amanda Gookin (Forward Music Project), Music

Tickets for the May celebration are available for purchase at www.armoryonpark.com.

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