Just days before President-elect Donald Trump is sworn into office on Inauguration Day, Maspeth’s Knockdown Center finished up their “Nasty Women” group exhibition, where female artists joined together in the face of recent threats to women’s rights.
With Trump and his selections for his cabinet set to take office on Jan. 20, many groups of people are concerned that the rights they currently enjoy will be in jeopardy. Women are particularly concerned due to the nature of Trump’s presidential campaign.
The name of the exhibition stems directly from the final presidential debate in October 2016 where Trump called Secretary Hillary Clinton a “nasty woman.”
The exhibition — which ran from Jan. 12 to Jan. 15 — invited self-identifying “Nasty Women” to contribute their own artwork to be sold at the showing, with the proceeds going toward Planned Parenthood — a program that provides millions of women with affordable healthcare, which may be on the chopping block once Trump is officially in the White House.
All of the submitted art was displayed on large-scale block letters inside the Knockdown Center that spelled out N-A-S-T-Y W-O-M-E-N. There were also musical performances, discussions, workshops, panels, information fairs and educational forums throughout the weekend with ticket sales for these events going toward various groups including the Callen-Lorde Community Health Center, the New York Immigration Coalition, Girls for Gender Equity and SisterSong.
The opening reception was held on Jan. 12, and there was an after party with DJ Belinda Becker and Lauren Flax, while Antwan Duncan and Flex Lang DJed the Knockdown Center’s Ready Room.
On Jan. 13, there was the RESONATE x CHASM event, providing an evening of art, music, performance and activism with a panel discussion focused on social and political engagement in America with Trump in office. The discussions were followed by live music.
Jan. 14 featured an information fair on women’s reproductive health and community health initiatives, and several other workshops and discussions focusing on women’s issues, as well as “A Night of Nasty Women” comedy show.
The event finished on Jan. 15 with more panels and discussions along with live musical performances from THICK, Towanda, Protruders and Mean Siders.
To learn more about the “Nasty Women” exhibition and other locations that are hosting one, visit their website here.
