La MaMa to Host PAINT2POWER Public Art-Making Event

On Sunday, Dec. 4 at 2 p.m., LA MAMA will host PAINT2POWER, the making of a large public art mural at the company's Galleria (47 Great Jones St.) in Manhattan. The public is invited to participate. Admission is free. Immediately following a program of art-making, music and storytelling, the audience will be invited to join in the permanent installation of the newly-created mural -- which serves as a symbol to the injustices facing women, from Roe v. Wade to the oppression of women in Iran -- on the East 3rd Street building wall (the back of the La MaMa Annex) located at 19 E. 3 St. www.paint2power.com. Participants in the installation event include Julia Haart (star of the Netflix series "My Unorthodox Life," Gloria Steinem, muralist C. Finley, the all-girl band Betty and Mia Yoo, artistic director of La MaMa.

Julia Haart, star of Netflix's "My Unorthodox Life", activist, bestselling author and entrepreneur joins feminist icon Gloria Steinem, and NYC master muralist and curator of the "Women's Bienniale" C. Finley as well as a coalition of artists, activists and leaders, to create a powerful public art work centered on justice for women. The world-renowned New York cultural institution La MaMa ETC is hosting the event which will involve music, storytelling and the collective creation and dedication of a large mural on 3rd street.

The event will take place on December 4 at NYC's La MaMa Galleria with an open invitation to women to contribute "story stars" either at home, or live at the event, which will be pasted by the artist and incorporated into the mural. The word depicts Lady Justice and symbolizes the resistance to all forms of misogyny and injustice facing women, from the overturning of Roe V. Wade, to the woman led revolution in Iran.

The theme of this collective artwork is justice, empowerment, and liberation. Each star can be pre-filled with images, writings, letters, or art encapsulating individual women's ascendance from oppression to empowerment.

"From issues of safety to access, public spaces have often been less available to women. In the tradition of the Guerrilla Girls and more, Paint2Power is making that point -- beautifully and publicly," said Gloria Steinem, feminist activist and NY Times bestselling author.

The day will start with a gathering to create the stars, live music from longtime activist girl-band BETTY, a powerful "Woman Life Freedom" themed performance by Anonymous NYC in response to the woman-led revolution in Iran and other special guests. Netflix star and outspoken activist on women's issue Julia Haart will officially launch the work with a special dedication.

Says Haart: "We have seen that this country's power structures are not inclusive or equitable to women, all the way up to the Supreme Court deciding that women should no longer have control over their own bodies,""The purpose of this project is to create a moment of transformation around the systemic pain impacting women by inequity and patriarchal structures that disenfranchise us, through a beautiful explosion of art centered on the idea that EVERY woman has a similar story, and together we can reclaim, rise and grow in our power."

La MaMa, currently founded by feminist theater icon Ellen Stewart, and currently under the artistic direction of Mia Yoo, has been a haven for women artists since the 1960s. La Mama has generously provided a large wall on their building to house the mural which will hold the stories of hundreds of women within individual stars. Meant to inspire and connect women to their power, the stars will be laid over a giant technicolor painting of Lady Justice, created especially for this moment by muralist C. Finley.

EVENT DETAILS:

Julia Haart, TV Personality, Bestselling Author

La MaMa ETC, legendary New York Arts institution, Mia Yoo Artistic Director

Gloria Steinem, Author and Activist (not attending)

Miriam Haart, Software Engineer, Host of Faking it Podcast

Kate Siahaan-Rigg, Comedian, Actor, Producer, Writer

BETTY the band, Alyson Palmer, Elizabeth Ziff and Amy Ziff

Heidi Sieck, CEO, #VOTEPROCHOICE

A'shanti Gholar, President, Emerge America

Shauna Thomas, Executive Director, UltraViolet

Antoinette Cooper, Founder, Black Exhale

Jen Aks, Founder, herStory
Nicole Ansari, Iranian activist and Founder Actors Rising, Actor, Director, Writer

Anonymous NYC performers from the "Woman Life Freedom" movement

WHERE: La MaMa Galleria, 47 Great Jones St. New York, NY 10003

WHEN: Sunday, December 4, 2022, 2:00pm - 4:00pm EST

TO PARTICIPATE: Please visit paint2power.com for downloadable instructions and how to join.

HOW IT STARTED: When the Dobbs decision came down eliminating access to safe and legal abortion and many other essential forms of women's healthcare, group of artists, businesswomen and activists began meeting at the home Julia Haart - courageous, fashion entrepreneur, feminist and bestselling author who escaped a fundamentalist religious community. Inspired by Gloria Steinem's decree "Gather and gather often," these women - all from a multitude of backgrounds and life experiences - began to devise ways to inspire, celebrate, amplify and empower women. Other women began to share stories of the failures of justice and of not being believed when trying to seek recourse from the oppression of misogyny.

ABOUT PAINT2POWER

Inspired by Gloria Steinem and sponsored by Julia Haart, the Day of Action partners include La MaMa ETC, artist/activist Kate Siahaan-Rigg, Miriam Haart, software engineer and host of Faking It PodcastHeidi Sieck, political activist and CEO of VOTEPROCHOICE, national organizer Shauna Thomas, Executive Director of UltraViolet, founder of Black Exhale, Antoinette Cooper, visual artist, original member of Gran Fury Marlene McCarty; the long-time activist band BETTY, Actors Rising founder Nicole Ansari, along with a diverse coalition of artists, activists, and leaders.

ABOUT C. FINLEY

C. Finley, Founder and Curator of the Every Woman Biennial and director of the La MaMa Galleria, is known for her elaborate paintings and intense use of color, monumental murals, multi-disciplinary collaborations, and her activism through urban art interventions, including her acclaimed Wallpapered Dumpsters. As the creator of the 2014-2021 Every Woman Biennial she exhibited 1200 female and non-binary artists in New York, Los Angeles and London. Finley has shown internationally and her work has been featured in the The New York Times, La Repubblica, Dazed, Fast Company, Women's Wear Daily, LALA, and more. Contact: iamfinley.com @iamfinley

ABOUT LA MAMA

Founded in 1961 by Ellen Stewart, La MaMa is a home for artists of all identities, races, ages, and cultures. At La MaMa, artists are provided the space, support, and creative freedom to explore new forms of expression and to make new work. La MaMa believes art is a force for change. Violence, discrimination, and systemic racism will not stop without a unified resistance. La MaMa is committed to battling bigotry and intolerance in all its forms, and to providing inclusive spaces for our local, national, and global community.

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