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Sent: Fri, 18 Nov 2005 22:49:07 -0500 Subject: Liz Christy honored THE DEDICATION On October 15, 2005, Artmakers dedicated When Women Pursue Justice, its 3,300 square foot mural that celebrates 90 women who, often risking life and liberty, have led or participated in movements for social change in the United States. In vivid color, the 45' x 75' mural portrays 14 twentieth-century movement leaders and 67 activists as well as 9 nineteenth-century "ancestors" who inspired twentieth-century activism. The mural honors Liz Christy, founder of the Green Guerillas and a major force in the Community Gardening movement When Women Pursue Justice is located at 498 Greene Avenue (corner Nostrand) in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, and is a significant addition to New York City's cultural and social landscape. Established in 1983, Artmakers Inc. is an artist-run, politically oriented, community mural organization that creates high quality public art relevant to the lives and work of people in their neighborhoods. This mural about women was painted by women -- 13 professional woman artists and 5 young interns (all from Brooklyn and art students at the High School for Fashion Industries). In the spirit of full disclosure, a few men were among the 30 volunteer artists and community residents who worked on the mural. The dedication was attended by nearly 250 people, including 20 of the women (or their representatives) who are depicted in the mural. High energy and joy characterized the event, and everyone remarked on the beauty and the power of the wall. The dedication also signaled the transfer of the emotional ownership of the mural from the artists to the community. If the artists saw something in their work (a color, a shape) they would have done differently, guests concentrated on the mural's honored women and spoke of those who had profound influence on their lives. Neighborhood resident Trina Morris referred to the mural as "the Great Wall of Brooklyn." Among those who movingly spoke at the dedication ceremony were Lynn Paltrow, executive director of National Advocates for Pregnant Women, and Democracy Now's Amy Goodman. Respectively, they reminded those gathered that change comes slowly in incremental steps and that continued activism assumes greater importance when, as now, civil rights are at risk. Both women are featured among the mural's activists. In addition, NYS Senator Velmanette Montgomery and NYC Councilmember Letitia James spoke, not in their roles as funders or politicians, but as individual women who acknowledged a personal relationship to women in the mural and the wall's significance for the community. Thomas Ballard, owner of 498 Greene Avenue, commented how proud his family and neighbors were to host "this beautiful mural that affirms, inspires and motivates." Other featured activists in attendance were Joan Maynard, founder of Bed-Stuy's Society for the Preservation of Weeksville (whose current director Pamela Green also attended), and Charlene Mitchell, recently retired from SSEU/Local 371 and co-founder of the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression. Additional activists on the wall were represented by members of their families or the organizations they founded: Bella Abzug by her daughter Liz Abzug; Jane Benedict by Jenny Laurie, executive director of Metropolitan Council on Housing; Hattie Carthan by board members of the Bed-Stuy based Magnolia Tree Earth Center; Liz Christy (founder of the Green Guerillas) by Lys McLaughlin, executive director of CENYC which sponsors the Open Space Greening Program, also developed by Christy; U.S. Congresswoman Barbara Lee by her cousin Zenobia Lewis; Faith Ringgold by her daughter Barbara Wallace, and U.S. Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez by staff aide Evelyn Cruz. Movement leader Audre Lorde, who fought against sexual discrimination and for lesbian rights, was represented by her daughter Dr. Elizabeth Lorde-Rollins. Movement leader Clara Lemlich, who led the 1909 shirtwaist workers strike and was the first president of the ILGWU, was represented by her granddaughter Jane Margules and great grandnephew Aaron Shneyer who met for the first time at the dedication. Kevin Yard, first cousin once removed of movement leader Shirley Chisholm (to whom the mural is dedicated), cut the ribbon with mural designer/lead artist Janet Braun-Reinitz and project director/artist Jane Weissman. Artmakers is developing an exhibition based on When Women Pursue Justice. The exhibition schedule is: Brooklyn Public Library (Central Branch/Youth Wing) February 1 - March 26, 2006 St. Joseph's College, Ft. Greene, Brooklyn April 6 - 27, 2006 Bread and Roses' Gallery 1199, Manhattan April 27 - May 31, 2006 Artmakers is also developing a 24-page illustrated booklet that will include an essay placing the mural's women in the context of 20th century activism, one-paragraph biographies of the women, a viewing guide to the mural, suggested reading lists for children and adults, and a selection of the visual material from the exhibition. ================================ Leaders, Ancestors and Activists Featured in When Women Pursue Justice LEADERS Shirley Chisholm (painted by Janet Braun-Reinitz, figure, and Kristi Pfister, face) Angela Davis (Nina Lasky) Dorothy Day (Kristi Pfister) Betty Friedan/Gloria Steinem (Nina Talbot) Guerrilla Girls (Rochelle Shicoff) Fanny Lou Hamer (Kristin Reed) Dolores Huerta (Maria Dominguez) Emma Goldman (Leola Bermanzohn) Clara Lemlich (Susan Togut) Audre Lorde (Lucy Mahler) Alice Paul (Lady Pink) Margaret Sanger (Rikki Asher) Wilma Mankiller (Tova Snyder) ANCESTORS Susan B. Anthony Elizabeth Blackwell Mother Jones Lucretia Mott Lucy Gonzalez Parsons Elizabeth Cady Stanton Sojourner Truth Harriet Tubman Victoria Woodhull ACTIVISTS Bella Abzug Jane Addams Judy Baca Joan Baez Ella Baker Jane Benedict Mary McLeod Bethune Harriot Stanton Blatch Nellie Bly Rachel Carson Hattie Carthan Liz Christy Eva Cockcroft Miriam Colon Mary Daly Carrie and Mary Dann Ruby Dee Marian Wright Edelman Jocelyn Elders Elizabeth Gurley Flynn Amy Goodman Uta Hagen Gladys Harrington Anita Hill Cheri Honkala Charlayne Hunter-Gault Jane Jacobs Barbara Jordan Florynce Kennedy Billie Jean King Yuri Kochiyama Mathilde Krim Maggie Kuhn Barbara Lee Lucy Lippard Viola Liuzzo Joan Maynard Kate Millett Charlene Mitchell Diane Nash Martina Navratilova Alice Neel Eleanor Holmes Norton Madalyn Murray O'Hair Kate O'Hare Lynn Paltrow Antonia Pantoja Rosa Parks Sr. Helen Prejean Jeanette Rankin Faith Ringgold Eleanor Roosevelt Marla Ruzicka Augusta Savage Betty Sahibs Cindy Sheen Karen Silkwood Nina Simone May Stevens Mamie Till-Mobley Rae Uzicker Nydia Velazquez Madam C. J. Walker Sarah Weddington Cora Weiss Zitkala-Sa ============================ ARTMAKERS INC. Community Muralists Janet Braun-Reinitz 372 DeKalb Avenue, #4A Brooklyn, NY 11205 718 783 6082 phone/fax Jane Weissman 78 Bank Street, #22 New York, NY 10014 212 989 3006 phone [EMAIL PROTECTED] ? Donald Loggins [EMAIL PROTECTED] ______________________________________________________ The American Community Gardening Association listserve is only one of ACGA's services to community gardeners. To learn more about the ACGA and to find out how to join, please go to http://www.communitygarden.org To post an e-mail to the list: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your subscription: https://secure.mallorn.com/mailman/listinfo/community_garden
