In June of 2020, NJ Women Vote: The 19th Amendment at 100 partnership placed a call for artists and humanities scholars to create digital content that addresses the theme of voting and suffrage, particularly related to New Jersey. Two proposals were selected to receive commissions. The projects were completed prior to the U.S. presidential election and shared as an inspiration and means of historical context for voting in 2020. Funding for this project was provided by NJ Women Vote, a partnership led by the New Jersey Historical Commission and the Alice Paul Institute, with assistance from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts.
LegacyNOW
LegacyNOW is a digital arts and humanities project created by coLAB Arts from the oral histories of leading second wave feminists from the National Organization for Women-New Jersey, conducted by New Jersey teens just coming into the movement. New Jersey-based theater artists were commissioned to create new digital performances based on these experiences, and include a diverse group of five female-identifying playwrights: Karen Alvarado, Stephanie Bond, Aizzah Fatima, Angela Kariotis, and Antu Yacob. Their projects range from scripted scenes, to monologues, to performance poems. Visit https://colab-arts.org/legacynow to learn more about the project and view full performances.
You can view the first installment of the project below featuring artist Angela Kariotis. The piece was created from an oral history with Judith Buckman, conducted by Shree Mehrotra.
RADICAL WOMEN: FIGHTING FOR POWER AND THE VOTE IN NEW JERSEY!
Black, Native American and Immigrant Women’s Voices
This virtual exhibition, a digital expression of the Newark Public Library’s Radical Women: Fighting for Power and the Vote in New Jersey! exhibition, is a timely, artistic, and historical journey of Black, Native American, immigrant and white women’s voices in the fight for respect, justice, and the vote. In addition to content from the original exhibition, this work features the work of New Jersey women and non-binary artists. Directed by curator and researcher Noelle Lorraine Williams in conjunction with director of photography Kay the Kreator of Gold Standard Productions, it inspires audiences to vote and continue the fight for justice. Visit https://npl.org/radical-women-fighting-for-power-and-the-vote-in-new-jersey/ to learn more about the project.
You can view the full virtual exhibition below.