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Art + Feminism partnered with MoMA PS1 and VW Sunday Sessions to host an afternoon of learning and unlearning focused around the idea of powerful preservation and the act of radical archiving. In a series of conversational pairings collectively titled ‘Past and Future Fictions’, eight organizations took the stage to showcase the community effort that powers archival work.
“Because what is an archive without community,” Art + Feminism leader Jaqueline Mabey said, kickstarting the event. “Archives provide access and education, and it’s important to remember the community that’s involved in this process.”
The event took place inside the MoMA PS1 dome and offered face-painting and artisan pastries amongst booths for feminist literature and do-it-yourself activism. As Mabey introduced the organizations being featured this Sunday afternoon to a full house, 60 people from a variety of backgrounds and gender identities lounged on large foam cushions spread across the floor and listened attentively. Soft lighting and rhythmic music which faded into the background contributed to the atmosphere of creativity in which attendees were encouraged by Mabey to “respect your own experiences and respect the experiences of others.”
The main force behind the event, Art + Feminism, brings this idea of fair representation to the world of online archives, specifically Wikipedia. Despite being the largest and most popular general archive, only 10% of their editors are women, according to the 2011 census data provided by the company. Less than 1% of ‘Wikipedians’ are transgender. Art + Feminism works to counteract this disappointing statistic, “improving coverage of cis and transgender women, feminism and the arts on Wikipedia,” as stated on their website. This manifests in annual ‘Edit-a-Thons’ across the world where they teach women how to create and edit Wikipedia articles in order to more accurately document the role of women throughout history.
“The art world runs off of women’s labor but it’s the men who hold positions of power,” Mabey explained during the group’s conversation with Radical Reference, one of the featured organizations. “Wikipedia is just a part of the world, and the world has problems.” Though the Art + Feminism team acknowledged they wouldn’t be able to solve the gender-gap problem which is so prevalent in today’s society, the creation of a platform in which women are able to discuss these issues and support each other as they work against them serves to make a serious difference.
“For such a long time, the histories of women have only been written through the lens of a man, which is crazy to think about,” Doreen, a technical event producer from New Jersey who discovered the event through MoMA PS1’s email list recalled. “I never really thought about it that way until coming here.”
Last year’s Edit-a-Thon resulted in the creation or improvement of nearly 6,500 Wikipedia articles, thanks to over 2,500 participants in 200 events around the world which took place throughout the month of March, according to the Art + Feminism website.
“For me, it’s about revisiting the structures of the way we live in the world,” Elise Rasmussen, a photographer who works to reshape history through a feminist lens and a friend of Mabey’s said. “We have to bring more presence to work that would be otherwise forgotten.”
Between 3 and 5:30 p.m, I had the great fortune of listening to three of the four conversations in which leaders of prominent feminist institutions engaged in dialogue around the philosophies they promote within their respective pursuits. Though they varied slightly as the platform shifted from publishing to archiving to organized lunches, the central idea remained the same: empowering people to speak their truth.
“An archivist is a human who assesses, collects, organizes, preserves, maintains control over, and provides access to records and archives determined to have long-term value,” Twitter user @mckensiemack described. “Radical archiving is all of that PLUS the inclusion of histories of people we’ve been told can’t matter.”
Madeline Ambrose, a self-proclaimed artist and friend to one of the face painters, similarly emphasized the importance of promoting radical archival work. Ambrose was lured to the event with the promise of free drink tickets but was pleasantly surprised by the power of the message, and how closely it hit on the issues she struggles with daily.
“I’m 23 and a woman and I constantly feel like, ‘does my idea matter’, ‘do people care about this’,” Ambrose explained, referring to her plan for a podcast called Ramen Sunday which follows her and her friends on their weekly ramen adventures. “And the people here are saying who cares if anybody wants it, just get your voice out there.”
More information about Art + Feminism and the work they’re doing is available on their website: http://www.artandfeminism.org/