We Are Here, We Are Here, We Are Here

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I was so happy to be part of Now Be Here #2 NYC , a gathering to photograph contemporary female artists at the Brooklyn Museum. The courtyard was abuzz with such positive energy! There were many friends to reconnect with, and many new friends made. See how it transpired in this time lapse below…

…resulting in this collective jubilant result.

Now Be Here #2, NYC, 2016. Courtesy Paola Kudacki. Courtesy Kim Schoenstadt, Shinique Smith, and the Brooklyn Museum.
Now Be Here #2, NYC, 2016. Courtesy Paola Kudacki. Courtesy Kim Schoenstadt, Shinique Smith, and the Brooklyn Museum.

I felt very keenly the historical importance of all of us affirming YES, “We are here, we are here, we are heeere!” to quote one of my favorite Dr. Seuss lines from his story Horton Hears a Who.

To identify the approximately 600 individuals present, we were each photographed with our assigned numbers in front of our faces. I’m 204.

Now Be Here #2, NYC, 2016. Courtesy Paola Kudacki. Courtesy Kim Schoenstadt, Shinique Smith, and the Brooklyn Museum.
Now Be Here #2, NYC, 2016. Courtesy Paola Kudacki. Courtesy Kim Schoenstadt, Shinique Smith, and the Brooklyn Museum.

Thank you to artists Kim Schoenstadt, who originated the project in Los Angeles; Shinique Smith, who co-hosted its NYC version; the Brooklyn Museum’s Carmen Hermo, Assistant Curator, Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art; and Dana Gluck, Special Projects.

Now Be Here #2 NYC helps to kick off the Brooklyn Museum’s A Year of Yes: Reimagining Feminism, which will present 10 special exhibitions. It begins with the current Beverly Buchanan – Ruins and Rituals, Marilyn Minter’s first retrospective, and Jeremy Deller’s Iggy Pop Life Class.

To learn more, see these articles: 600 Female Artists Took the Brooklyn Museum by Storm This Weekend and In Brooklyn, 600 Women Artists Unite for a Photograph.