There’s some of my artwork in this exhibition: (you can even see it in the photo if you look closely):
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Alien She
Curated by Astria Suparak + Ceci Moss
September 21, 2013 – February 16, 2014 (Touring)
Miller Gallery at Carnegie Mellon University
Purnell Center for the Arts
5000 Forbes Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
USA
Sept. 20, Friday 6-8pm: Opening Reception
RSVP: 
See list of all events.
Artists: Ginger Brooks Takahashi (Pittsburgh), Tammy Rae Carland (Oakland), Miranda July (Los Angeles), Faythe Levine (Milwaukee), Allyson Mitchell (Toronto), L.J. Roberts (Brooklyn), Stephanie Syjuco (San Francisco)
Archival Materials from: dumba collective; EMP Museum, Seattle; Interference Archive; Jabberjaw; the Riot Grrrl Collection at the Fales Library & Special Collections, NYU; and many personal collections
Collaborative Projects and Platforms include: Counterfeit Crochet Project, Feminist Art Gallery (FAG), General Sisters, Handmade Nation, Joanie 4 Jackie, Learning to Love You More, LTTR, projet MOBILIVRE-BOOKMOBILE project, Sign Painters and more
Regional Music Curators: Tammy Rae Carland of Mr. Lady Records and I (heart) Amy Carter zine (American South); Pete Dale of Slampt Records and Pussycat Trash (England); Donna Dresch of Chainsaw Records and Team Dresch (Pacific Northwest); Maaike Muntinga of Riot Grrrl Benelux and Ladyfest Amsterdam + Jessica Gysel of Girls Like Us magazine (Belgium + the Netherlands); Lynne T + Bernie Bankrupt of Lesbians on Ecstasy (Canada); Allison Wolfe of Bratmobile, Girl Germs zine and Ladyfest Olympia (D.C. + Olympia); Elisa Gargiulo of Dominatrix (Brazil); Ceci Moss + Astria Suparak, exhibition curators and former Riot Grrrls (California)
ABOUT THE EXHIBITION
Alien She is the first exhibition to examine the lasting impact of Riot Grrrl on artists and cultural producers working today. A pioneering punk feminist movement that emerged in the early 1990s, Riot Grrrl has had a pivotal influence, inspiring many around the world to pursue socially and politically progressive careers as artists, activists, authors and educators. Emphasizing female and youth empowerment, collaborative organization, creative resistance and DIY ethics, Riot Grrrl helped a new generation to become active feminists and create their own culture and communities that reflect their values and experiences, in contrast to mainstream conventions and expectations.
Riot Grrrl formed in reaction to pervasive and violent sexism, racism and homophobia in the punk music scene and in the culture at large. Its participants adapted strategies from earlier queer and punk feminisms and ‘70s radical politics, while also popularizing discussions of identity politics occurring within academia, but in a language that spoke to a younger generation. This self-organized network made up of teenagers and twenty-somethings reached one another through various platforms, such as letters, zines, local meetings, regional conferences, homemade videos, and later, chat rooms, listservs and message boards. The movement eventually spread worldwide, with chapters opening in at least 29 states and 21 countries.* Its ethos and aesthetics have survived well past its initial period in the ‘90s, with many new chapters forming in recent years. Riot Grrrl’s influence on contemporary global culture is increasingly evident – from the Russian collective Pussy Riot’s protest against corrupt government-church relations to the popular teen website Rookie and the launch of Girls Rock Camps and Ladyfest music and art festivals around the world.
Alien She focuses on seven people whose visual art practices were informed by their contact with Riot Grrrl. Many of them work in multiple disciplines, such as sculpture, installation, video, documentary film, photography, drawing, printmaking, new media, social practice, curation, music, writing and performance – a reflection of the movement’s artistic diversity and mutability. Each artist is represented by several projects from the last 20 years, including new and rarely seen works, providing an insight into the development of their creative practices and individual trajectories.
In various ways, these artists have incorporated, expanded upon, or reacted to Riot Grrrl’s ideology, tactics and aesthetics. For instance, many continue to cultivate and nurture alternative communities. Ginger Brooks Takahashi creates spaces for conversation and exchange with jubilant publications, dance parties, mobile reading rooms and soup delivery service. Through photography and video, Faythe Levine documents groups committed to DIY independence and handmade aesthetics, such as crafters, off-the-gridders, and, in her new book and documentary, traditional hand-lettered sign painters. L.J. Roberts fabricates declarations of protest and solidarity with evocative banners and textile works.
Riot Grrrl thrived through the establishment of DIY networks and information sharing, an aspect manifest in Stephanie Syjuco’s project for freely distributing copyrighted critical texts and in Miranda July’s video chainletter for “lady moviemakers.” Recalling forgotten her/histories was also central to Riot Grrrl, and in that vein, Allyson Mitchell pays homage to key writings, feminist presses, bookstores and libraries with lesbian feminist library wallpaper, while Tammy Rae Carland reveals intimate relationships in her autobiographical photo series. All of the artists included here have worked collaboratively and many have built platforms for other artists and under-recognized groups to connect, encourage, share resources and self-publish.
The exhibition’s historical section is designed to be plural and open-ended; this is a living history, not a sealed past. By representing numerous voices and experiences, rather than outlining one single definitive story, we hope it will reflect the multiplicity that was such an integral part of the original movement. Toward this end, a sampling of the Riot Grrrl movement’s vast creative output is included here. Hundreds of self-published zines and hand-designed posters were solicited from institutional and personal archives through open calls, word-of-mouth and invitations – similar to the way Riot Grrrl expanded. Music playlists represent different Riot Grrrl scenes across the U.S., Canada, South America and Europe, guest curated by musicians, DJs and label owners, and accompanied by records, cassettes, set lists, band T-shirts and other ephemera. Video interviews and an ongoing, online Riot Grrrl Census provide an expanded oral history.
The exhibition’s title, Alien She, is a reference to a Bikini Kill song of the same name. The lyrics are about the negotiation of normalized gender roles, the uneasy line between feminist critique and collectivity, and the process of coming to a feminist consciousness, with the repeated refrain, “She is me, I am her.” More broadly, Alien She conjures the possibilities of identity, self-determination and subversion. In the face of alienation and bigotry, Riot Grrrl fostered community, action and creation. This exhibition provides a view into the passion and diversity of the original Riot Grrrl movement, and highlights how these ideas have broadened, evolved and mutated in the work of contemporary artists.
Alien She was curated by Astria Suparak and Ceci Moss, former Riot Grrrls from Los Angeles and the Bay Area, and organized by the Miller Gallery at Carnegie Mellon University. Support for Alien She is provided in part by Vox Populi.
The curators would like to thank Sara Marcus, Vega Darling, Mimi Thi Nguyen, Lisa Darms and exhibition intern Rose Hermalin.
* From data compiled in the Riot Grrrl Chapters Map, an online collaborative project created for the exhibition that assembles research from various people and the public: www.bit.ly/RGmap
PUBLIC EVENTS
Sept. 20, Fri.
5-6pm: Exhibition Tour With the Curators + Artists
Sponsored by the University Lecture Series
6-8pm: Opening: Revolution and Reception
Sponsored by Full Pint & Red Star Kombucha
@ Miller Gallery, 5000 Forbes Ave.
Free
RSVP:
10pm-2am: Dance Party: Sappho: We don’t play guitars!
With DJing by Alien She artists Ginger Brooks Takahashi and Allyson MItchell and collaborators Mary Tremonte, Deirdre Logue and more
@ Brillobox, 2nd floor, 4104 Penn Ave., Bloomfield
$6 admission, $3 if you bring yr riot!
RSVP:
Sept. 26, Thurs.
7:30pm: Film Screening: Sign Painters
New documentary by Alien She artist Faythe Levine & Sam Macon
Presented by AIGA Pittsburgh and Pittsburgh Filmmakers
@ Harris Theater, 809 Liberty Ave, Downtown
$8 admission, $7 students, $5 CMU students/staff/faculty + AIGA Pittsburgh members
RSVP:
There was a time, as recently as the 1980s, when storefronts, murals, banners, barn signs, billboards, and even street signs were all handlettered with brush and paint. But, like many skilled trades, the sign industry has been overrun by the technofueled promise of quicker and cheaper. The resulting proliferation of computer designed, diecut vinyl lettering and inkjet printers has ushered a creeping sameness into our landscape. Fortunately, there is a growing trend to seek out traditional sign painters and a renaissance in the trade. In 2010 filmmakers Faythe Levine, co-author of Handmade Nation, and Sam Macon began documenting these dedicated practitioners, their time honored methods, and their appreciation for quality and craftsmanship. Sign Painters, the first anecdotal history of the craft, features stories of more than two dozen sign painters, young and old, working in cities throughout the United States. (2013, 80 minutes) www.signpaintermovie.com
Oct. 10, Thurs.
6:30-9:30 pm: Workshop: Feminist Vision & Activism for Men
@ First Unitarian Church, 605 Morewood Ave. (entrance on Ellsworth)
$5 – 25 sliding scale – scholarships available.
RSVP to bfiorillo@gmail.com
Feminism is a vision of a better world for all of us. The violence of sexism impacts our families, communities, social justice movements, and society. This is a workshop for men who want to explore what feminism means for their lives and social justice efforts, in a supportive, encouraging space. This is an opportunity for men to talk openly about challenges that hold us back challenging sexism and to develop tools to help us be more effective feminists working for equality and liberation for all.
http://chrisscrasspittsburgh.wordpress.com
Organized by WWHAT’S UP (Whites Working and Hoping to Abolish Total Supremacy, Undermining Privilege) and the Department of Women’s Studies at the University of Pittsburgh
Oct. 30, Wed
6-8pm: Self-Publishing Panel + Discussion
@ Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Main, 4400 Forbes Ave.
Free
Short presentations by people self-publishing across platforms – including podcasts, blogs, zines, artist publications, and TV shows – opening to a discussion on the unique properties and benefits of each format. Guests include Ayanah Moor and Raquel Rodriguez from Queer & Brown in Steeltown, Ginger Brooks Takahashi from LTTR and projet MOBILIVRE-BOOKMOBILE project, and Jon Rubin from WAFFLE SHOP. Visit the Alien She exhibition prior to the panel, located 2 blocks east at 5000 Forbes Ave (at Morewood), open from 12-6pm. Organized by the CMU School of Art and Carnegie Library,
in connection with the Alien She exhibition at the Miller Gallery (which features work by Brooks Takahashi) and the zine collection at the Carnegie Library.
Nov. 13, Wed.
6-8pm: Conversation: Feminism and Race
Doors close at 6:30pm. RSVP requested, but not required, to miller-gallery@andrew.cmu.edu
Presented by WWHAT’S UP (Whites Working and Hoping to Abolish Total Supremacy Undermining Privilege)
@ Miller Gallery, 5000 Forbes Ave.
Nov. 23, Sat.
8pm: Film Screening: Sadie Benning
@ Carnegie Museum of Art Theater, lower level, 4400 Forbes Ave.
All events are free of charge + open to the public, unless otherwise indicated.
Additional events to be announced. Check back for details.
TOUR
March 7 – April 27, 2014
Vox Populi, Philadelphia, PA
Oct. 2014 – Jan. 2015
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, CA
Sept. – Oct. 2015
Pacific Northwest College of Art: Feldman Gallery & Project Space, Portland, OR
Additional venues to be announced. Contact as@cmu.edu for details.
drawings by nina 
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