WHEN:            June 13 - August 16, 2008

EVENTS:         Opening reception: Friday, June 13, 6-8pm music with CK Barlow
                         Panel Discussion: Saturday, June 14, 2pm (see below)
                         Downtown Artscrawl: Friday, August 15, 5-8pm

WHERE:          516 Central Avenue SW, between 5th & 6th Streets, Downtown Albuquerque
                        Open Tuesday through Saturday, 12-5pm

MORE INFO:  Suzanne Sbarge, 516 ARTS: t. 505-242-1445, e. suzanne@516arts.org 
                         www.516arts.org 


What do you wear that makes you feel powerful?

516 ARTS is the exclusive New Mexico host of the national traveling exhibition called Trappings: Stories of
Women, Power and Clothing, created by Two Girls Working, the collaboration by artists Tiffany Ludwig and
Renee Piechocki. The exhibition tour is in conjunction with the release of their book of the same title. Their
artwork Trappings begins by asking women to respond to the question: what do you wear that makes you feel
powerful? Two Girls Working have interviewed over 530 women in fi fteen states. Through its multiple parts
Trappings ignites conversations about the meaning and expression of power. The exhibition includes: a twofl
oor installation at 516 ARTS and a public art project on bus panels on the downtown D-Ride buses and on
banners along Central Avenue.
 
To expand the exhibition beyond the gallery and into the community, Two Girls Working developed a public art
project combining portraits and interviews for the public buses. Each of the three downtown D-Ride buses will
include photographs and an audio component. The artists use a voicemail system that offers an audio work
to accompany each print, allowing bus riders to dial a phone number from their cell phones to actually hear
each woman telling her story. Visitors ride the free D-ride buses and walk along Central Avenue downtown to
take in the full exhibition.

Many women from New Mexico are included in this project, including thirty women who recently
participated in interview sessions hosted by the Visit Albuquerque, the
National Hispanic Cultural Center, the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, the Rio Grande Community
Development Center, the South Valley Economic Development Center and the Zuni Indian Reservation.
This project is made possible in part by grants from the New Mexico Humanities Council, the City of
Albuquerque and Bernalillo County. Special thanks to the City of Albuquerque ABQ Ride and Planning
Department, Clear Channel Outdoor and Downtown Action Team. For more information, please visit
www.twogirlsworking.com.
 
Sound Artist CK Barlow
Friday, June 13, 6-8pm at the opening for Trappings
CK Barlow is a composer and sound designer who performs with the ensembles
Out of Context and mJane and as a soloist, constructing pieces based on a variety
of fi eld recordings. CK frequently composes for Albuquerque’s Tricklock Theater
and has provided music for fi ve independent fi lms and several video artists and
choreographers. CK’s writing has been published in MIT’s Computer Music Journal
and Leonardo Music Journal.

Trappings Panel Discussion
Saturday, June 14, 2pm
The public is invited to join in the discussion of the Trappings project question and its many implications
with guest artists Two Girls Working, local scholars and participants. One simple question can elicit a
response as widely divergent as the backgrounds, attitudes and social mores of those participating in,
or simply viewing, the project. Trappings is an artwork which is based in oral histories and community
dialogue that examines the way we identify ourselves and others. Trappings presents images and oral
histories that describe the range and diversity of background, identity and attitude among women.
Scholars on the panel include Kathy Freise (Ph.D. in American Studies, freelance writer) and Linda B.
Hall (Ph.D. in Contemporary Latin American History, currently writing the biography Delores Del Rio:
Icon of Beauty in Two Cultures).

ABOUT 516 ARTS
516 ARTS is a nonprofi t arts venue presenting collaborative programs with museums and organizations
in the region and beyond. 516 ARTS offers free gallery talks, educational tours, music and poetry
performances year-round at the newly renovated 5500 square foot museum-style gallery space in the
center of Downtown Albuquerque. For more information, please visit www.516arts.org