The Every Woman Biennial, world's largest female and non-binary art festival, opens in NYC
NEW YORK -- The Every Woman Biennial opened at La MaMa Galleria on the Lower East Side this weekend.
The art exhibit, formerly known as The Whitney Houston Biennial, is the world's largest female and non-binary art festival.
"This is an art festival and an experience where 200-plus women and non-binary folks come together to just strut their stuff. It's free. It's accessible. Free to apply for, free to get in. And it's just a celebration of loving art. It's called 'I Will Always Love You,'" founder C. Finley said.
"It was a tongue-in-cheek response to the Whitney Biennial, where they rarely had women and women of color in the show. So actually, Eddy, our director, came up with the Whitney Houston Biennial as kind of a joke. So we did that one Monday, we had 500 attendees that showed out. And then we thought, OK, we're on to something. This is back in 2014. Well, since then, obviously MeToo has happened. There's been a real change in feminism and inclusivity and intersectionality," curator Molly Caldwell said.
Over 1,400 artists applied to be featured in the show, and curators narrowed the selections down to just 200 artists that range in age from 13-91.
"This exhibit is literally the coolest exhibit in New York City, maybe in the world," Finley said.
"We had the idea for this show ten years ago. Like, what if we did the show that was all women? And we took all the pretension out of an art show and just made it this celebration. And to see how it's grown, it's just really emotional and it's an honor," artistic director and curator Eddy Segal said.
"I just encourage people to come down and feel it and experience it, catch a performance and just walk into a room full of experimental wild stuff," Finley said.