This year, Project for Empty Space has turned twelve years old!! Getting beyond the ten-year mark, especially after two years of global hardship, has been an incredible and rewarding journey, and we are so grateful to our communities and colleagues for propelling us to this point. Amplifying the work of culture-makers is at the heart of our work, and without all of you, we would not be able to see this mission through.
In the spirit of amplifying the work of dynamic culture workers, we were so thrilled to bring back our Badass Art Woman Awards, which recognizes phenomenal women who make magnificent contributions to the art world. This year we are honoring three brilliant women who have worked tirelessly to support artists and changemakers in a myriad of ways. Folks joined us on Wednesday, March 9th, 6-10 pm to celebrate the work of fayemi shakur, Cultural Affairs Director for the City of Newark; Isolde Brielmaier, Deputy Director of the New Museum; and Michi Jigarjian, Partner, Curator, and Chief Social Impact Officer in the 7G Group. These three women have an impact that far surpasses their own immediate reach; the work that they have done and continue to do sets a precedent for how artistic communities should be nurtured.
This year’s Badass Art Woman Awards took place at the Ruth Bader Ginsburg Hall located at 15 Washington St., Rutgers University - Newark. This historic location is central to downtown Newark, and conveniently located near Broad St. Station. The festivities kicked off with a celebratory cocktail hour from 6 - 7 pm, followed by the awards program and dinner from 7 - 9 pm, and a bopping dance-after-party from 9 - 10 pm.
This evening featured a stellar lineup of visual and performing artists which include performances by DJ April Hunt, SANJ, and Candice Hoyes.🌿 Visual interventions by Yvette Molina and 2021 PES Artist in Residence Adama Delphine Fawundu.
The Host Committee for the 2022 BAWA Awards included Aisha Glover, Amitha Raman, Antwaun Sargent, Austin Fremont, Carmen Hermo, Casey Fremont, Cat Dawson, Derrick Adams, Folake A. Ologunja, Jasmine Mans, Kathleen Landy, Lewis Long, Linda Morgan, Nick Kline, Amy Goldrich, Regina Barboza, Salamishah Tillet, Sarah Arison, Tanya Selvaratnam, Tiana Webb Evans, Zoe Buckman, and Jonathan Gardenhire.
This year’s Badass Art Woman Awards program was inspired by the work of intersectional eco-feminist artist Ana Mendieta. When considering the events and hardships of the past two years, we thought about what single word would best encompass a goal for the future. We landed on the idea of sustainability- whether that be sustainability for our global environment, for our communities, for artistic practice, for humanity. Although Mendieta’s life was tragically cut short, her work remains resonant and relevant today in exploring our relationship with different types of sustainability and perseverance.
Ana Mendieta, “Imagen de Yagul” (“Image from Yagul”), 1973, one of Mendieta’s best known “Siluetas,” or “Silhouettes.”
fayemi shakur is a writer, interdisciplinary artist, and art and social justice advocate. Her published work has been featured in The New York Times, CNN Style, and MFON: Women Photographers in the African Diaspora among other books and publications. In 2019, she founded A Womb of Violet to celebrate the work of Black feminist writers, poets and artists. She was selected for several artist residencies in 2019 that included Critical Studies Artist in Residence at The Center for Photography at Woodstock, Artist in Residence at Shine Portrait Studio, and Feminist in Residence at Project for Empty Space. With over 15 years of experience in the arts, her career emphasizes collaboration, cultural organizing, and community engagement as essential and meaningful experiences that challenge the way we see the world, ourselves and each other. She currently serves as Arts and Cultural Affairs Director for the City of Newark, under the Honorable Mayor Ras J. Baraka.
Michi Jigarjian is a Partner, Curator and Chief Social Impact Officer in the 7G Group, owner of The Rockaway Hotel. As the lead on the Rockaway Hotel, her responsibilities include the engagement of art and social impact towards a sustainable socially responsible property and neighbor. Jigarjian is also a curator, community facilitator and educator. She has been the President of Baxter St at CCNY since 2011. The organization is one of the longest standing artists run non-profit organizations which operates to create platforms for community engagement and progress for underrepresented and emerging lens-based artists. She brought the organization to its current location and led its revitalization in 2013. She is co-founder of the project-based publishing press Secretary Press and New Draft Collective. Her books include Writing as Practice, How We Do Both: Art and Motherhood and the three volume series Mold. She is currently on faculty at Bard/ICP Masters of Fine Arts Program. Most recently she has been named the Chair of the Community Committee for the Brooklyn Museum and the Co-Chair of the DEI Committee of the National YoungArts Organization. She serves on the board of the Brooklyn Museum and YoungArts, The National Foundation.
Isolde Brielmaier is the newly appointed Deputy Director of the New Museum as well as Guest Curator at the International Center for Photography (ICP) in NYC. Previously, Isolde served for six years as Executive Director and Curator of Arts, Culture & Community at Westfield World Trade Center, a role in which she developed artist projects and installations, cultural events, strategic and community partnerships across the organization. Isolde was also a Professor of Critical Studies in Tisch's Department of Photography, Imaging, and Emerging Media at New York University. She serves as an editor at several media and art journals and speaks regularly on topics related to art, culture, and social impact. Isolde is also deeply committed to the promotion of social justice and human rights, specifically global women’s issues and criminal justice reform, and serves on the board of the Women’s Prison Association (WPA) as well as an advisor to Malaika, an all-girls school in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Isolde holds a Ph.D. from Columbia University and lives in New York City.
The Badass Art Woman Award (BAWA) emerged organically one day, several years ago, while chatting with several other cultural practitioners in our circle at an event. We noticed a general homogeneity in the types of people who are recognized in large institutional spaces. It was very apparent that many of the women cultural workers in our industry; particularly those who cross over multiple roles beyond artists (ie curators, gallerists, academics, writers, etc.), are often overlooked. Of course, there are occasions when women in the art world transcend into the mainstream realm; however, those instances are far too few. We wanted to create an award that brought in a true sense of celebration and joy- a ‘badass’ celebration! Thus, BAWA was born. A celebration of women who do phenomenal work within the Contemporary Art world.