In a world that has always been patriarchal to a great extent, flag art project celebrates suffrage have continuously struggled to be able to exercise their basic rights. Their relentless struggles and battles are still on, to make this world a better place for them.
Women standing up for each other and uplifting one another is the most inspiring part of feminism as a movement that the world has witnessed till today. To celebrate yet another victory of some strong-willed women, the Her Flag art project was created by Marylin Artus.
This project celebrates women and their art, irrespective of all the barriers that have been created between them. In this article, we will talk about the ‘Her Flag’ art project and everything that you need to know about its existence and proceedings. Read along to find out!
Flag Art Project Celebrates Suffrage: Know more about it
Before discussing what made the ‘Her Flag’ come into being, it is important to mention the extremely significant and inspiring reason behind its creation. It stands as a symbol of empowerment, not for Democrats, or Republicans, but for that of Americans, half the population of the Americans who call themselves women. It represents their equal right to choose their government.
Her flag – art that celebrates voting for women was initiated to mark the 100th anniversary of the 19th amendment that marks the recognition of women voters after a protest of 72 long years. It was finally amended on 26th August 1920 and till this day, is still celebrated in America every year as ‘Women’s Equality Day’ to commemorate the same.
While the problem seemed to have been resolved, there were several underlying issues concerning women of color. Feminism makes no sense without intersectionality and ‘Her Flag’ is doing its best to support women of color in their social media pages. Marilyn Artus founded this national project that deals with art and travel and she had planned to collaborate with 36 women artists from all the 36 states that made the amendment possible.
The idea was to showcase their artwork on a large flag with its dimensions being 18 X 26 feet, with each stripe containing a specific artwork. The initial plan was to travel to all the 36 states throughout a year and two months, but the pandemic led to some modifications to this well-chalked-out plan.
Marylin didn’t lose hope and continued her endeavor to make the ‘Her Flag’ art project a successful one. She conducted live sessions where she stitched the stripes one by one. The entire process was completed at her house in Oklahoma. The ‘Her Flag’ was finally completed on the 18th of August, 2020 while the pandemic was still on, via virtual exhibition from Nashville, Tennessee. This flag was then displayed in the National Museum of Women, besides New York Avenue.
‘Her Flag’ Art Project: More about the founder
A young girl with dreams about making the US a better place for everybody, learned the art of weaving clothes by observing her mother sewing clothes for her. She was determined to make a flag for a similar cause because of her affiliation towards flags that are meant to convey something that dates back to the time when she’d gone to a museum for a school trip and saw a very fascinating flag hanging there.
Her sewing skills are also a result of her graduate degree in fine arts and her subsequent career as a commercial artist. She has been very vocal about her feminist approach towards whatever she does. She usually deals with women-centric issues and gives a voice to those who can’t or are not able to raise their voice.
She conducts several sessions as well as workshops regularly that focus mainly on the issues faced by women through her art. People like her make these campaigns special and are a live example of why movements like suffrage were important to bring about a change in the way the world views women and their capabilities. She has done several shows alone as well as with other artists and has a lot of awards and accolades to her name for her exemplary work in the field of feminist art.
Her Flag Art Project: A celebration of women’s right to vote
Her flag: a suffrage celebration helps breaks all kinds of stereotypes and shackles that abound in society relegating women to a secondary role. That’s what art does, right? It’s a connecting force that’s beyond temporal and spatial boundaries.
The artworks that were compiled in the stripes of the flag transcended all barriers and described various events and the lives of women who’d been an important part of the project.
Each stripe that was dedicated to a specific state had something unique to offer depending on the contributions of that state. Some of the stripes have images of the struggles or the description of women who played a vital role in movements similar to suffrage and civil rights.
A very striking feature of this flag is, while there are reminiscences of the past difficult times, there are also depictions of the suffrage legacy that still lives on.
‘Her Flag’ is not just an art project but also a suffrage celebration in itself.
Conclusion
The Her Flag art project has inspired people all over the world and helped spread awareness about the historic victory of women for the recognition of their rights and their identity. Initiatives like this deserve all the appreciation that this world is capable of offering.
It was proved yet again that the pen is mightier than the sword, and that art is capable of bringing about greater changes than violence ever would. The celebration of art is the most powerful way to celebrate one’s being and convey one’s intentions.
For as long as the her flag art would be seen in the national museum of women, it would keep inspiring women to stand up for what’s right, irrespective of all the impending hurdles that would follow. It would keep reminding women that when they unite, nobody would be able to wrong them.
Also, read: Same-Sex Marriage: Love Knows No Bounds, Don’t Criminalise It!