Do you know about the Nasty Women movement? It takes its name from Donald Trump’s comment during the third Presidential debate where he called Hillary Clinton “such a nasty woman.” On November 9, 2016 (the day after the election), New York artist Roxanne Jackson issued a call to action on her Facebook page that said:
“Hello female artists/curators! Let’s organize a NASTY WOMEN group show!!! Who’s interested???”
Within the first hour, Jackson received nearly 300 responses.
Jackson soon found people to help organize such a show and a gallery in Queens, NY willing to host it. Even with a short call for entries, and with an agreement that all proceeds for any artwork sold would go to women’s rights organizations, the show gathered about 1,000 pieces of art by women.
The show was held over Martin Luther King Day weekend and netted about $50, 000. Of that, $42,500 is going to Planned Parenthood, a reproductive health care non-profit for which Trump has threatened to cancel all federal funding.
However, that turned out just to be the beginning. Now there are around 30 other venues offering similar exhibits, including The Carrack, an innovative art space in the Golden Belt Arts District in Durham, NC (another leg of the so-called Research Triangle between Raleigh [NC State], Chapel Hill [UNC-Chapel Hill], and Durham [Duke] for readers aren’t local). For a full list of exhibitions, visit: http://nastywomenexhibition.org/other-nasty-venues/
The opening reception for the Durham will take place Friday, January 20 from 6-9 as part of the regularly-scheduled “third Friday” gallery tour in Durham. It is an opportunity to meet the Nasty Women artists and to purchase some original artwork. The Carrack show is also donating all proceeds to Planned Parenthood. If you are otherwise occupied that evening, the show will be up from January 20-28.
For full disclosure, I want to admit I have a personal connection to this show. My son’s art teacher, Jenny Eggleston of Egg in Nest Studio, is one of the participating Nasty Women’s artists. I feel very fortunate that he has a mentor in his life who is not only a gifted artist and a caring, intuitive teacher, but a model for how artists can use their work to make a positive difference in the world. I love that my son gets to learn from a self-proclaimed Nasty Woman!
BlissFullU 
