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ArtsWestchester Lands $75,000 State Grant For Women's Suffrage Exhibits

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. -- ArtsWestchester in White Plains announced that it has received a $75,000 grant as part of New York State’s Round Six of the REDC (Regional Economic Development Council) Awards.

"Women’s Rights are HUMAN RIGHTS!," by Laurel Garcia Colvin.

"Women’s Rights are HUMAN RIGHTS!," by Laurel Garcia Colvin.

Photo Credit: Provided

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced the grant as part of more than $700 million in economic and community development funding awarded throughout the state through this initiative, according to a release from ArtsWestchester.

“With 10 other grants awarded to Westchester organizations and municipalities to focus on arts and cultural efforts, it is clear that New York State recognizes the importance the arts have on economic development,” said Janet Langsam, CEO of ArtsWestchester. “We are thankful to Governor Cuomo for this grant that will fund a very important exhibition in 2017.”

The REDC grant awarded to ArtsWestchester will fund its 2017 Fall Exhibit, "Suffrage Now!"

This year marks 100 years since New York State signed women’s suffrage into law, three years before the United States passed the 19th Amendment. ArtsWestchester joins other REDC-awarded arts and culture organizations that plan to focus on women’s suffrage this year to mark its centennial anniversary, the release said.

“With the recent presidential election, concerns about overall voter turnout in both local and national elections, concerns about disenfranchised populations, this exhibit and its corresponding public programming is especially relevant," explained Langsam. “Area artists will explore a variety of contemporary barriers to the ballot and engage Westchester residents and visitors in a dialogue about women’s political equality and the ongoing story of America’s evolving democracy.”

"Suffrage Now!" is a contemporary art exhibition celebrating New York’s historic role in the path to the 19th Amendment while reinforcing the relevance of the women’s suffrage movement today, according to the release.

ArtsWestchester will commission up to 10 New York artists with diverse artistic practices to produce new work that considers the power of the ballot and what the right to vote means to Americans. Some artists will be given an actual voting booth as the basis of their work.

At the center of the exhibition will be an installation by a Westchester artist that will visually narrate the story of New York suffragettes, including Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony and Gertrude Foster Brown.

"Suffrage Now!" exhibiting artists will be provided with honorariums, material stipends and in some cases, a working space. Invited New York artists will include Philippe Safire (digital), Sable E. Smith (conceptual), Mary Ann Lomonaco (mixed media) and duo Lise Prown and Curt Belshe (mixed media).

The exhibition will be presented in ArtsWestchester’s downtown White Plains Gallery that is open free of charge to the public Tuesdays through Sundays from noon – 5 p.m.

ArtsWestchester’s Gallery is at 31 Mamaroneck Ave., White Plains. For more information about ArtsWestchester, visit artswestchester.org.

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