Donna Karan and ArtLeadHer

As the 32^nd annual Women’s History Month gets under way, many fashion and beauty brands are gearing up to celebrate and Donna Karan hosts an all-female art exhibit highlighting identity and femininity. The designer is collaborating with ArtLeadHer, a women-in-the-arts nonprofit organization, to host an all-female art exhibit on Friday called “King Woman,” at Urban Zen, the former art studio of Karan’s late husband, Stephan Weiss. The studio has since been repurposed into a cultural venue honoring Weiss’s legacy. Curated by ArtLeadHer founder, Mashonda Tifrere, the exhibit will showcase 15 emerging artists and their work that explores identity and femininity.

Since its launch on Women’s Day 2016, ArtLeadHer has hosted exhibitions that highlight emerging female artists alongside more established names. The month’s programming will include conversations, receptions, and panels featuring experts such as Joeonna Bellorado-Samuels, director at Jack Shainman Gallery, and Carmen Hermo, an associate curator at the Brooklyn Museum’s Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art.

The exhibition, King Woman, consists of female-artist works that collectively represent a dynamic range of portraiture, from textiles to abstract gestural painting and photography. Explains curator Mashonda Tifrere: “Artists selected for this show project their own gender identity in a powerful and unabashed way. The exhibition’s title, King Woman, intends to subvert the cultural notion that women should aspire to be just a ‘Goddess’ or a ‘Queen.’ Each artwork selected for King Woman emotively positions women subjects as the pinnacle of power and strength, while evoking a deeply human connection with the viewer.”

After giving the traditional 60% of proceeds from sold works to the artist, the remainder of sales proceeds—as part of ArtLeadHer’s women-in-the-arts advocacy mission—will benefit their new Foundation headquarters at (and in partnership with) Mana Contemporary in Jersey City. The new facility, which seeks to expand ArtLeadHer’s roving mission to increase the representation of women in the visual arts, will provide services and programming to girls grades 8 to 12 through offerings such as artist talks and studio visits; museum and gallery trips; college readiness/guidance counseling and assistance with compilation of art portfolios for admissions applications; artist-in-residence opportunities; exposure to professional mentors; and more.

Both Donna Karan and ArtLeadHer founder Mashonda Tifrere have a history of using their public platforms to foster cultural initiatives within and beyond the arts. Tifrere looks to increase representation of women in the visual arts by presenting a forum for emerging female artists to exhibit work among established industry names—then by channeling resources to provide structured visual arts education opportunities for underserved girls in New York City and Newark, New Jersey. Donna Karan, with her Urban Zen Foundation, aims to support preservation of culture around the world, bringing care back to healthcare, wellness, and education.

Said Donna Karan of the partnership: “When I look at Mashonda and all that she is doing with ArtLeadHer, she’s connecting the dots between women, art and our community. She brings together the most beautiful artists, highlights their talent and soul. She’s raising awareness and inspiring change, and that truly expresses what Urban Zen is about – Creativity, Collaboration, Communication, Community and positive Change.”

King Woman will be on view to April 7, 2019 at Urban Zen, located at 705 Greenwich Street, between 10th Street and Charles Street in Greenwich Village.  Exhibition hours are Monday through Friday from 10am to 6pm, and Saturday from 11am to 6pm.

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