I am super excited to be apart of an all women group of artists in an upcoming show entitled: La Bracera: 2nd Annual AF3IRM New York Multimedia Exhibit Launched

Check it from the Curators:

“NEW YORK:  Fresh from the triumph of Eritrea Ahdey (Eritrea, My Country) exhibit, Samra Ghermay joins more than a half-dozen transnational women artists for AF3IRM’s annual art show.  La Bracera:  Women & Work opens on Saturday, April 21, 2011, 7 pm at the Yippie Museum, 9 Bleecker Street, Manhattan, 10012.  Those interested in the reception are urged to call or email AF3IRM NY so they can be included in the guest list.

Among the confirmed participating artists are Sarah Kolker (36Kolks), Crystal Clarity, Madonna Davidoff,  and Melanie Cervantes.  The women artists trace their ethnicity to a mixture of bloodlines:  from Xicana, Puerto Rican, Jamaican to African-American and Filipina.  Some focus primarily on the culture and history of their people, while others embrace commonalities across ethnic borders.  All however create the astounding imagery of women at work and what it means for women to have work.

The theme echoes current women’s concerns over the economic crisis;  thus far,  only 32% of jobs created by the so-called economic recovery program have gone to women workers.   Compounded by the gender-wage gap and under-employment for women, especially women of color, the continuing discrimination against women with regards to jobs has consigned some 1.5 million single mothers and millions of children in the US to poverty.

According to Leilani Montes, AF3IRM NY coordinator, work has more than just economic significance for women.  “It is a conduit to public space,” she said, “and enables women to engage in public discourse.  It provides them with social status.  In a country where poverty is often equated with being stupid, it is important to look at all the ways by which women are deprived of the right to work.”

The exhibit is being coordinated by Ms. Montes, a labor organizer, and Olivia Canlas, a long-time women’s rights activist who recently finished her law degree.

The pieces on exhibit will be on sale.  Part of the proceeds will go to enable AF3IRM NY to conduct its Purple Rose campaign against the outsourcing of entire departments in corporate operations – a tactic that depresses wages and de-unionizes the workplace and encourages trafficking.   As the major share of the proceeds will go to the artists themselves, the exhibit is also a means of supporting women artists of color in their creation of a culture representative of their life experiences.

Exhibit hours at the Yippie Museum are from 7-10 pm.  Please RSVP to nynj@af3irm.org or call 212-726-2254 for either the opening or closing events, media coverage or to purchase a piece.

Media Contacts:  Leilani Montes;  Olivia Canlas

Email: nynj@af3irm.org
Tel: 212-726-2254
Address: P.O. Box 2693 New York, NY 10163-2653″