Material Type

Artifact

Date

2017

Materials

COTTON, PAINT

No. Pieces

1

Length

698

Width

111.5

Description

DARK BLUE COTTON FABRIC WITH PINK AND WHITE PAINTED TEXT AND GRAPHICS; LEFT SIDE OF BANNER SHOWS PAINTED WOMEN’S PROFILES IN WHITE AND PINK; BOTTOM HAS MAPLE LEAF BESIDE TEXT; BANNER TEXT READS: “WOMEN’S MARCH LETHBRIDGE, AB #MWMCANADA #WOMENSMARCH #WHYIMARCH”. FABRIC IS STAINED ON FRONT AND BACK WITH PAINT SPLATTER AND DIRT, AND ON FRONT HAS FOOTPRINTS ALONG EDGE. LEFT AND RIGHT EDGES ARE DOUBLE STITCHED; TOP AND BOTTOM EDGES ARE HEMMED; OVERALL CONDITION IS GOOD.

Subjects

DOCUMENTARY ARTIFACT

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 PROCEEDED TO DONATE SIGNAGE AND ACTIVIST ARTWORKS FROM THE LETHBRIDGE WOMEN’S MARCH TO THE MUSEUM. 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 CREATION OF THE STENCILS, LITTLE RECALLED, “TROY AND KRYSTY DID THE BANNER…TROY IS A LOCAL ARTIST…KRYSTY KNOWS HOW TO GET THINGS DONE…THEY USED CARDBOARD STENCILS TO CREATE THE GRAPHIC, AND THE LETTERING ON THE BANNER, AND THE FLAG…AFTERWARDS, I THINK IT WAS TROY WHO REALIZED THESE STENCILS ARE TOO GOOD JUST TO BE WASTED. HE, THEN, TURNED THEM INTO FURTHER PIECES OF ART, WHICH IS THE SIGN THAT SAYS, 'RIGHTS MATTER' WITH THE LETTERING. THE LARGER LETTERS WE THEN PUT INTO THE GROUND AROUND THE RALLY…IT’S PRETTY SIMPLE – FABRICS, SOME STENCILS, AND SOME SPRAY PAINT.” “[THE BANNER] IS BIG, SO IT’S NOT LIKE YOU COULD DO IT ON YOUR KITCHEN TABLE. THE BANNER IS QUITE LARGE…IT WAS CONSTRUCTED AT CASA.” “THE BANNER WAS INTERESTING, TOO, BECAUSE, IN SOUTHERN ALBERTA, WITH THE WIND, YOU HAVE TO THINK ABOUT SOME OF THIS EXTRA CONSTRUCTION. I THINK ALSO, PART OF WHAT’S IMPORTANT ABOUT ‘ACTIVISM ART’ IS THE ABILITY TO INCLUDE OTHERS IN IT…” ON MARCH 31, 2017, MACLEAN INTERVIEWED ANNELIES VAN OERS REGARDING HER PARTICIPATION IN THE WOMEN’S MARCH IN LETHBRIDGE ON JANUARY 17, 2017. VAN OERS SPOKE ABOUT HER KNOWLEDGE OF THE BANNER AND ITS CREATION, STATING, “THE BANNER [WAS] CREATED BY TROY AND KRYSTY…BASICALLY WE BOUGHT THE FABRIC AND KRYSTY HAD A FRIEND WHO COULD SEW IN THE THREE HOOKS FOR THE POLES TO GO IN. ONCE THEY HAD SEWN IT, TROY MADE STENCILS. HE BLEW UP THE GRAPHICS, AND THE GRAPHICS WERE ALL CREATED IN WASHINGTON BY THE WASHINGTON PEOPLE…[TROY] BLEW IT UP, PROJECTED IT AND SOMEHOW MADE STENCILS…AND PROJECTED IT ON TO CARDBOARD AND WAS ABLE TO STENCIL IT OUT AND THEN BROUGHT SPRAY PAINT AND SPRAY PAINTED IT ON…BECAUSE THIS WAS ALL STENCILED OUT WE PUT THE ACTUAL STENCILS OF EACH INDIVIDUAL WORD ON LITTLE STICKS AND MADE THE HASHTAG…'#WOMENSMARCH'. WE PUT THAT RIGHT IN THE ENTRY AND IT’S BEAUTIFUL... A METRE HIGH IN THE END AND THIS REALLY COOL PIECE OF BASICALLY CARDBOARD WITH THIS BEAUTIFUL COLORED PAINT ON THEM. AS PEOPLE DROVE IN TO PARK UP – THIS IS WHAT THEY SAW…IT WAS REALLY COOL AND TROY REALLY WORKED HARD ON THIS.” 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, NEWSPAPER ARTICLES AND PHOTOGRAPHS FROM THE JANUARY 17, 2017 WOMEN’S MARCH.

Catalogue Number

P20170020002

Acquisition Date

2017-06

Collection

Museum

Less detail