A black-clad team of artists and art supporters serve a diverse array of foods to the invited working women’s groups, their guests and other community leaders.
Photo by Kelly Akashi

On Saturday, June 16 in a culminating ritual based in the domestic, community-building form of the potluck dinner, over 200 women gathered to share a meal and stories about living and working as women in the current culture. In the public, yet peripheral exterior courtyard of the Geffen Contemporary at MOCA, the event began with a reception including tours of the WACK! exhibition and the Stories of Work & Survival audio recordings from the women’s groups conversations in April. As well, music by the Mariachi-esque duo of Leticia Soto and Lauryn Salazar set the tone for the potluck dinner stage of intimate round tables covered with colorful, assorted tablecloths and indulgent bowls of red and yellow cherries as an installation soon to be enjoyed. Generous volunteers with an artistic commitment to Lacy’s intention of celebrating the women that help make the city run brought a range of ethnic dishes to form the cornucopia at the far edge.

When dinner was ready to be served, the lime green ribbon that corralled the stage was opened up and women flooded to their loosely assigned tables. An introduction describing the project was given by Suzanne Isken from MOCA’s Education Department, Janna Shadduck-Hernandez from UCLA’s Labor Center, a key collaborator in the project, and Suzanne Lacy, the artist that envisioned and led the organization of the women’s groups and complementary events for revealing their voices. Angela Harris from Alexandria House invocated gratitude for the special meal with her a capella version of Amazing Grace. Subsequently, the volunteers, dressed in black to emphasize their behind-the-scenes roles, served dishes arbitrarily to the small groups purposely mixed to encourage discussion, which seemed to flow easily, amongst different group members. Each table also included one strategically identified community witness who was there to listen, offer respect and potentially find a future avenue for the often overlooked voices, unheard particularly from both a city’s and a museum’s dominant perspectives.

After dinner as the sun gradually set, one by one a representative from the women’s groups that participated in the recorded MOCA conversations stood up amongst the crowd to share her story of work and survival. A bike messenger spoke of the danger of the road in terms of car and bus traffic and the social sensitivity of being one of the few female messengers. A public school teacher shared her exhaustion from days spent navigating aggression and disinterest in her students while still feeling compelled to educate ever-growing youth. An Iranian refugee relayed a cathartic experience during her home country’s revolution that encouraged her to find her strength amidst the struggle. A Native American woman revealed her journey from her reservation to Los Angeles to find hope in education and a community of accepting women. A Gabriela Network nurse described the challenges of leaving the Philippines to work in the American medical system and its expectations of the caregiver. Each story was unique and expressive to that woman’s life, but together the voices collaged to emphasize the labor, intention and experience that underlies the everyday in Los Angeles.

Under the soft globe ceiling designed by architect Nonchi Wang and amidst the nighttime backdrop of the sparse Downtown Los Angeles skyline, the evening was sealed with a performance by the energetic African music based group of ADAAWE that sang the praises of the women through penetrating voices and drums. The feeling of connection and warmth among the women was audible and the question moving forward was how to extend the respect and energy generated to further the awareness of the working women, their gifts and challenges. The effort to characterize what it means to live and work as a woman in Los Angeles is an admirable, yet difficult one, but as many of the women discovered that evening, there is plenty to discuss when an artist like Lacy sets the stage.

A whole-hearted thanks to the many contributors not previously mentioned that were pivotal in this irreplaceable event including Kelly Akashi, Susan Bay-Nimoy, Betty Brown, Denise Gray, Jorge Julien, Linda Kunik, Caryl Levy, Judy Mitoma, Ofunne Obiamiwe, Leda Ramos, Jeremy Rall, Linda Vallejo, Marjan Vayghan, Ladan Yalzadeh, USC Public Art Studies Students, the Community Organizers and the myriad of other volunteers.

Angela Harris from Alexandria House shares her perspective as a woman navigating life on the street in her compelling poem “Skid Row Sister.”
Photo by Ofunne Obiamiwe