Material Type

Artifact

Other Name

RIBBON ARTWORK

Date

2017

Materials

POLYESTER, COTTON, PAPER

No. Pieces

2

Height

102

Length

892.8

Description

A. COLLECTION OF 231 MULTI-COLORED RIBBONS TIED TO A PINK TWO-STRAND CORD ( 892.8CM LONG AND 0.5CM DIAMETER) FORMING PENNANT STRING. RIBBONS VARY IN LENGTH AND WIDTH AS: 3.7CM PINK SHEER ORGANZA, 3.8CM WHITE WIRED TAFFETA, 0.9CM PINK SATIN (DOUBLE-FACED), 4.3CM PALE PINK CREPE PAPER, 0.9CM DARK PURPLE SATIN (DOUBLE-FACED), 7.4CM PINK HAND-TORN CLOTH, 3.7CM WHITE WIRED WITH SILVER EDGING, 1.8CM PINK GROSGRAIN RIBBON, AND 3.9CM MINT GREEN POLYESTER RIBBON. EVERY RIBBON IS WRITTEN ON IN BLACK, GREEN, OR RED INK WITH VARIOUS STATEMENTS INCLUDING: “FOR MY DAUGHTER & THE WOMEN WHO CAME BEFORE”, “BECAUSE NO ONE IS FREE WHEN OTHERS ARE OPPRESSED”, “SO YOUNG GIRLS DON’T HAVE TO BE AFRAID” AND MORE [PLEASE SEE THE PERMANENT FILE FOR COMPLETE LISTING OF THE RIBBON STATEMENTS]. PINK HAND-TORN CLOTH RIBBONS HAVE FRAYING EDGES, AND WHITE WIRED RIBBONS HAVE EXPOSED WIRES AT ENDS. RIBBON PENNANT IS IN OVERALL VERY GOOD CONDITION. B. DETACHED RIBBON FROM RIBBON PENNANT. DEEP PURPLE WITH BLACK TEXT READING “WOMEN ARE STRENGTH!!!” RIBBON IS 38.5CM LONG AND 1CM WIDE WITH FRAYING AT THE DETACHED END.

Subjects

ART

Historical Association

POLITICS

History

THE WOMEN'S MARCH LETHBRIDGE FIRST OCCURRED ON JANUARY 17, 2017. ORIGINATING IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA FOLLOWING THE ELECTION OF PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP, THE WOMEN'S MARCH WAS AN INTERNATIONAL MOVEMENT OF PROTESTS AND GATHERINGS IN SUPPORT OF WOMEN'S RIGHTS, HUMAN RIGHTS, LGBTQ+ RIGHTS AND STANDING AGAINST INTOLERANCE AND DISCRIMINATION. THE 2017 WOMEN’S MARCH IN LETHBRIDGE SAW A GATHERING OF 500-600 PARTICIPANTS ALONG MAYOR MAGRATH DRIVE SOUTH NEAR THE CORNER OF NINTH AVENUE. SHANNAN LITTLE ACTED AS A FACILITATOR FOR THE GATHERING AND DONATED SIGNAGE AND ACTIVIST ARTWORKS FROM THE LETHBRIDGE WOMEN’S MARCH. ON JUNE 9, 2017, COLLECTIONS TECHNICIAN KEVIN MACLEAN INTERVIEWED LITTLE REGARDING HER DONATION AND PARTICIPATION IN THE LETHBRIDGE WOMEN’S MARCH. WHEN ASKED ABOUT THE RIBBON PENNANT DONATED TO THE MUSEUM, LITTLE SPOKE ABOUT THE RIBBON PENNANT AS ACTIVIST ART, “PART OF WHAT’S IMPORTANT ABOUT ‘ACTIVISM ART’ IS THE ABILITY TO INCLUDE OTHERS IN IT, SO THAT IS WHY THE RIBBON PROJECT WAS REALLY AMAZING. IT JUST STARTED OUT WITH THIS STRING WITH NO RIBBONS, AND THEN THEY ASKED PEOPLE TO WRITE WHY THEY WERE THERE, WHY MARCH, ON THE RIBBONS. WE WEREN’T SURE IF PEOPLE WOULD GO FOR THAT, BECAUSE IT’S KIND OF A PERSONAL EXPRESSION, AND PEOPLE WERE REALLY EXCITED. WE ENDED UP [WITH] HUNDREDS OF PERSONAL REASONS, AND SO THAT BECAME A COMMUNITY ART PROJECT, AS WELL AS A PLACE TO COLLECT ALL THESE REASONS WHY PEOPLE WERE HERE. IT WAS INCREDIBLY VISUAL; IT WAS QUITE BEAUTIFUL. YOU CAN SEE THERE WERE SO MANY PHOTOS THAT PEOPLE TOOK OF IT. THIS WILL BE…SOMETHING THAT PEOPLE REMEMBER. MY DAUGHTER, WHO IS ONLY FIVE, HAS A RIBBON ON THERE, SO MY MOTHER WROTE THE TEXT OUT. SHE SAID WHY SHE WANTED, WHY SHE WAS HERE, AND IT’S ALSO INCLUDED ON THERE, SO IT’S REALLY SPECIAL.” “FOR ME, THE RIBBON DISPLAY IS INCREDIBLY ICONIC. AS FAR AS I KNOW, WE’RE THE ONLY COMMUNITY THAT DID THIS. THAT’S PART OF…OUR SIZE BUT ALSO THIS COMMUNITY THAT IS UNIQUE IN LETHBRIDGE. OTHER EVENTS WERE A LOT OF JUST TALKING TO PEOPLE, SPEAKERS…SO THIS INTERACTIVE, COMMUNITY-INCLUSIVE PIECE OF PUBLIC ART WAS, FOR ME, VERY ICONIC….I WOULD SAY…THE RIBBON PROJECT STANDS OUT.” WHEN ASKED ABOUT HER INVOLVEMENT IN COMMUNITY ACTIVISM, LITTLE NOTED, “I’VE BEEN INVOLVED IN ORGANIZING OTHER EVENTS AND RALLIES IN TOWN, BUT NONE THAT HAD THE TURN-OUT AND THE RESPONSE THAT THIS ONE DID. WE DIDN’T HAVE ANY REAL EXPECTATIONS ABOUT WHAT THE TURN-OUT WOULD BE. WE KNEW THERE WOULD BE PEOPLE, BUT, WHEN WE SAW THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE THAT CAME OUT, WE WERE EXCITED, BY THE FACT THAT WE HADN’T REALLY - THERE WAS NO AGENDA ON THIS EVENT, OR ANYTHING. IT WAS VERY SPONTANEOUS, AND, THAT IT WORKED IN THIS CITY WAS SIGNIFICANT.” LITTLE SPOKE ABOUT HER DONATION TO THE MUSEUM AND HER FEELINGS ON LEARNING THAT THE MUSEUM WANTED MARCH MATERIAL RECALLING, “…WHEN I FIRST HEARD, I WAS ACTUALLY QUITE EXCITED, BECAUSE…WHEN WE WERE ORGANIZING THE EVENT, WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT IT JUST WASN’T A POINT IN TIME...AND THEN IT WENT AWAY…WHEN WE HEARD THE MUSEUM WAS INTERESTED, WE WERE…ON A PRACTICAL LEVEL, SAYING 'WOW, WE CAN PUT THE STUFF SOMEWHERE,'…THERE WAS A LOT OF LABOR AND EFFORT INVOLVED IN MAKING IT, BUT, OTHERWISE, PRESERVING THE STORY, AND THE CONTEXT - WE REALIZED THAT WAS IMPORTANT.” LITTLE RECALLED HOW SHE BECAME INVOLVED WITH THE LETHBRIDGE WOMEN’S MARCH, SAYING, “IT STARTED WHEN I FOUND OUT ABOUT PUSSY HATS…I CROCHETED A FEW OF THOSE TO SEND TO WASHINGTON, AND I POSTED IT ON FACEBOOK, AND THEN A LOT OF MY FACEBOOK CONTACTS SAID, 'I WANT ONE.' AND, THEN THE NEXT QUESTION WAS, 'WHAT’S GOING ON IN LETHBRIDGE?' IT BECAME APPARENT THAT WE NEEDED TO HAVE SOMETHING IN LETHBRIDGE. A GROUP OF US WHO HAVE DONE SIMILAR THINGS, GOT TOGETHER TO SAY, WELL, WHAT COULD WE DO? WE DIDN’T CALL OURSELVES ORGANIZERS. WE CALLED OURSELVES FACILITATORS. WE FACILITATED THE GATHERING, AND WE USED THAT TERMINOLOGY WITH INTENTION. WE ALSO WERE CLEAR TO PEOPLE THAT EVERYONE WHO CAME TO THE EVENT WAS AN ORGANIZER. IT WAS INTERESTING, BECAUSE ONE OF THE MEDIA STORIES ABOUT THIS, ASKED SOMEONE, 'WHO IS THE ORGANIZER?' AND, THE RESPONSE WAS, 'WE ARE ALL ORGANIZERS.'” “I THINK IT’S IMPORTANT TO KNOW THAT THIS WASN’T JUST ABOUT ‘WOMEN’S RIGHT’S.’ ‘WOMEN’S RIGHT’S’ IS ‘HUMAN’S RIGHT’S’. IN LETHBRIDGE, WE ORGANIZED TO COME OUT STRONGLY AGAINST DISCRIMINATION OF ANY FORM. WE ALSO WERE MARCHING FOR VERY POLITICAL REASONS, AND THAT IS STATING THAT THE POLITICS OF INTOLERANCE ARE NOT ACCEPTABLE, AND, IN ALBERTA, WE REALLY SEE THAT CURRENTLY. WE ALSO WANTED TO SEE A RETURN TO CIVILITY AND RESPECT IN PUBLIC DISCOURSE. WE SAW SO MUCH MISOGYNY, ESPECIALLY ON SOCIAL MEDIA, SO WE WANTED TO SAY LOUDLY AND STRONGLY THAT THIS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE IN OUR COMMUNITY.” ON MARCH 31, 2017, MACLEAN INTERVIEWED ANNELIES VAN OERS REGARDING HER PARTICIPATION IN THE WOMEN’S MARCH IN LETHBRIDGE ON JANUARY 17, 2017. WHEN ASKED ABOUT THE NATURE AND ORIGINS OF THE WOMEN’S MARCH IN LETHBRIDGE, VAN OERS REMARKED, “WE DIDN’T HAVE A MARCH, WE HAD A GATHERING BECAUSE WE DIDN’T WANT TO GET A PERMIT SO WE HAD A GATHERING. IT WAS VERY ELECTRIC. FOR LETHBRIDGE IT WAS… ROCKING.” “WHAT WAS UNIQUE TO LETHBRIDGE IS THE WAY THAT IT WAS ORGANIZED. IT’S SUPER-GRASSROOTS…AND FAIRLY LOW KEY. THERE’S NOT THIS ORGANIZATIONAL JOCKEYING OR POSITIONING, IT WAS JUST FIVE PEOPLE, 'HEY, LET’S DO THIS. OKAY, LET’S DO THIS.' AND THAT’S HOW LETHBRIDGE, QUITE OFTEN, OPERATES…WE JUST GENERICALLY COME TOGETHER BECAUSE WE ALL FEEL PASSIONATE ABOUT ONE THING…THERE’S JUST THIS [SENSE OF], 'OKAY, WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE AND WHAT CAN I DO TO HELP?' AND THAT’S WHERE I THINK WE’RE UNIQUELY LETHBRIDGE. IT’S VERY HANDS ON, IT’S VERY QUICK.” “WHAT ELSE IS UNIQUE IN LETHBRIDGE IN TERMS OF THE WOMEN’S MARCH, I THINK, IS ITS RELEVANCE. WE ARE SO FACED WITH MISOGYNY RIGHT NOW IN OUR COMMUNITY. BECAUSE THIS CAME OUT OF A POLITICAL SPHERE THAT’S IN THE UNITED STATES. IT WAS VERY MUCH AN ANSWER TO DONALD TRUMP. THIS IS HOW THIS MARCH STARTED BUT I THINK, FOR US, IT WAS, 'YEAH, OKAY, WE REALLY DON’T APPRECIATE IT WHEREVER IT HAPPENS, BUT LOCALLY, WE HAVE SOME REALLY SERIOUS ISSUES.'” PLEASE SEE THE PERMANENT FILE P20170020001-GA FOR MORE INFORMATION INCLUDING FULL INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTION, FULL LISTING OF RIBBON STATEMENTS, NEWSPAPER ARTICLES AND PHOTOGRAPHS FROM THE JANUARY 17, 2017 WOMEN’S MARCH.

Catalogue Number

P20170020001

Acquisition Date

2017-06

Collection

Museum

Less detail