The Art of Activism With Guerilla Girls at LTV

The Guerilla Girls, founded in 1985, are a band of anonymous women artists who fought discrimination against female artists and artists of color in the art world. They wear gorilla masks and assume the identities of dead female artists, all to focus on the message. They have delivered this message in performances and presentations globally, from Australia to Europe, and all over the United States.

On Thursday, August 1, at 7:30 p.m. at LTV Studios, “The Mannix Show: Shooting the Sh*t With Cultural Folk” will present a riveting conversation about arts activism with host Karyn Mannix and two original, former Guerrilla Girls (“Alice Neil” and “Romaine Brooks”). Topics discussed will range from how the Guerilla Girls, as a group of activists, made such an impact on the art world, plus newer concerns for society, and how and where to go from here in the arts and beyond.

The group’s witty, pointed posters, plastered all over lower Manhattan, called out gallerists, curators, collectors and critics for their complicity within this system. The Guerrilla Girls brought into public discourse, for the very first time, how this sustained discrimination axed women artists and artists of color out of exhibitions, museums, the art market — and art history itself. A famous Guerrilla Girl poster reads. “You’re seeing less than half the picture without the vision of women artists and artists of color.”

Signed, original posters will be available for sale at the event. Tickets are $30 in advance ($35 at the door) at ltveh.org.

On the day prior to the presentation, Wednesday, July 31, join Guerrilla Girls “Romaine Brooks” and “Alice Neel” for a workshop at LTV from 3 to 5 p.m. as they lead participants on a journey into activism. Learn to use creativity as a positive powerful tool for social change, whether you consider yourself an artist or not.

For the first part of this two-hour workshop, the Guerilla Girls will cover the goals of a public demonstration, such as initiative and organization and become aware of the impact it can have through a nonviolent, peaceful demonstration. The workshop will cover the ideas and conflicts of social activism by using imagination and vision, and how to bring critical consciousness to the people.

In the second part, participants will create signs for a demonstration. This enrolled group of activists will become peacefully active (if they choose) on August 1, from 7 to 7:30 p.m., at LTV Studios, right before the Guerrilla Girls take the stage for “The Mannix Show: Shooting the Sh*t With Cultural Folk.”

The focus of this group will be Mother Nature which will include climate change, animal protection rights, and many more topics to be discussed.

Enrollment in the $50 workshop gets free admission to the Guerrilla Girls on August 1, from 7:30 to 9 p.m. Space is very limited. Participants must by 16 years and older to attend. To purchase tickets for the discussion or workshop, visit ltveh.org. LTV Studios is at 75 Industrial Road in Wainscott.