As a part of our crowdfunding campaign we offered a unique table-size version of I Am Queen Mary for sale. We are happy to announce who the institution was that purchased this work and supported our project in such a generous way.
The reveal will take place in Copenhagen on October 26, 2022 at 4pm CEST.
Icons, Memory and Monuments: A conversation about collaborative memory work around resistance movement with the creators of I Am Queen Mary and All Power To The People Project
Date: Sunday, September 26, 2021
Time: 9am PDT/ 12pm AST/ 6pm CEST
This event is taking place on Zoom and is free, but with a limit of 100. Get tickets on Eventbrite here.
We are pleased to announce a conversation between the creators of I Am Queen Mary and the founders of All Power To The People Project. I Am Queen Mary is a transnational collaborative public art project that honors the legacy of those who survived and fought against Danish colonialsim and slavery in the Caribbean. The pose of the figure Queen Mary is inspired by the iconic image of Huey P. Newton, leader of the Black Panther Party, in which he sits in a peacock chair with a spear and rifle in either hand. His widow Frederika Newton and designer Rachel Konte co-own the brand All Power To The People Project. They aim to inspire and empower each generation by creating products that communicate the history and global impact of the Black Panther Party. In alignment with that mission they have created a partnership with I Am Queen Mary as they raise money to complete their public art project. This conversation will discuss their combined and distinct collaborations.
LA VAUGHN BELLE | CO-CREATOR
La Vaughn Belle is a multidisciplinary artist from the Virgin Islands. For years her work has responded to questions surrounding the coloniality of the Virgin Islands, both in its present relationship to the US and it’s past one to Denmark. Her work borrows from elements of architecture, literature, history, archeology and social protest to create narratives that challenge the colonial process. She is best known for her work reinterpreting the material artifacts of colonialism to create an alternative archive. She has exhibited her work in such institutions as the Museum of the African Diaspora, San Francisco, El Museo del Barrio, NY, Arts of the Americas Museum, Washington, DC., the Royal Library of Denmark and the Centro de Wilfredo Lam, Cuba.
JEANNETTE EHLERS | CO-CREATOR
Jeannette Ehlers is a video, photo and performance artist based in Copenhagen, Denmark. For years she has created artworks that delve into ethnicity and identity inspired by her own Danish and Caribbean background. Her pieces revolve around big questions and difficult issues, such as Denmark's role as a slave nation—a part of the Danish cultural heritage, which often gets overlooked in the general historiography. She has exhibited and performed in such institutions as AROS, Aarhus, Denmark, the Museum of Latin American Art, Los Angeles, the International Slavery Museum, Liverpool, the McKenna Museum of African American Art, New Orleans, Nikolaj Copenhagen Contemporary Art Center, Denmark and the Pérez Art Museum, Miami .
FREDRIKA NEWTON | CO-FOUNDER
As President of the Dr. Huey P. Newton Foundation, a former member of the Black Panther Party, and on behalf of the Foundation, I add my voice to the thousands around the world who will stop in this moment 50+ years since the Party’s founding to acknowledge and commemorate the powerful contribution of the Black Panther Party to the liberation of all oppressed people. The Mission of the Dr. Huey P. Newton Foundation is to preserve and promulgate the history, ideals and legacy of the Black Panther Party and its founder Dr. Huey P. Newton. In prior years we have developed and distributed educational materials, established educational conferences and forums, and maintained and exhibited historical archives. Over 25 years since the founding of the Foundation, we have a new public history vision that includes a monument, pop-up exhibit, and museum all dedicated to the Black Panther Party. We are bringing the Panther legacy to the people while carving out a permanent space for our history in Oakland. The spirit of Huey lives on!
RACHEL KONTE | CO-FOUNDER
Rachel Konte has been in the apparel industry since 1993. Born and raised in Denmark Copenhagen she has worked for Levi’s & Co Norden in Sweden and Tommy Hilfiger Europe in Amsterdam and Levis US in San Francisco where she held the position of Women’s Design Director for Levi Strauss & Co. She runs her own brand OwlNWood online, where she designs and produces a small collection of locally made apparel. Rachel is also currently Chief of Brand at Red Bay Coffee. Rachel Konte is Co-founder of the brand ALL POWER TO THE PEOPLE PROJECT.LLC. Since 2018 Rachel has worked with Fredrika on designing and producing the product line for APTTP Project.
We are excited to present a short film based on behind the scenes footage of I Am Queen Mary, as well as interviews with the artists on the process of creating this public art project and the transformative dialogues it has created.
This film is the longer version of the one commissioned by the Danish National Gallery for the exhibition After The Silence. It was co-produced by IdoArt Agency.
We are presenting two online screenings:
Monday, September 13, 2021 at 7pm CEST/ 1pm AST (Day 1)
Thursday, September 16, 2021 at 5:30pm AST/ 11:30pm CEST (Day 2)
Get tickets here.
We are excited to present a short film based on behind the scenes footage of I Am Queen Mary, as well as interviews with the artists on the process of creating this public art project and the transformative dialogues it has created.
This film is the longer version of the one commissioned by the Danish National Gallery for the exhibition After The Silence. It was co-produced by IdoArt Agency.
We are presenting two online screenings:
Monday, September 13, 2021 at 7pm CEST/ 1pm AST (Day 1)
Thursday, September 16, 2021 at 5:30pm AST/ 11:30pm CEST (Day 2)
Get tickets here.
We are so please to be a part of this major exhibition at SMK/National Gallery of Denmark.
“Come explore art that’s ready to do battle! In this year’s major autumn exhibition, we give the floor to some of art history’s prominent women artists. Taking the women’s liberation movement in the 1970s as our springboard, we focus on how women have used art as an instrument of battle to create change in the world over the last hundred years.
With the exhibition After the Silence – women of art speak out, SMK sheds new light on a range of women artists who delve unflinchingly into major political themes of the past and present.
Here you will find melting letters and monumental tapestries, video works, installations, paintings, prints, clay tablets – and not least a hovering airplane. A total of 130 artworks by 18 acclaimed Danish and international artists are on display. The works span the period from the 1920s to the present day and the featured artists artists are Käthe Kollwitz, Hannah Höch, Hannah Ryggen, Nancy Spero, Paula Rego, Dea Trier Mørch, Kirsten Christensen, Ursula Reuter Christiansen, Kirsten Justesen, Lene Adler Petersen, Jenny Holzer, Mona Hatoum, Shirin Neshat, Pia Arke, Simone Aaberg Kærn, Jeannette Ehlers, La Vaughn Belle, and Tabita Rezaire.”
We are honored to have been asked to speak at the opening from 5:30-5:50pm CEST. Follow our Instagram @iamqueenmaryofficial for live updates!
See here to for more information and to purchase tickets.
We are so excited to announce an amazing partnership with ALL POWER TO THE PEOPLE PROJECT,LLC.
If you remember, our pose in I Am Queen Mary is a direct quote from the iconic image of Huey P. Newton of the Black Panther Party.
As President of the Dr. Huey P. Newton Foundation, his widow, Frederika Newton together with designer Rachel Konte, co-own the brand ALL POWER TO THE PEOPLE PROJECT,LLC which exists to inspire and empower each generation by creating products that communicate the history and global impact of the Black Panther Party.
We have decided to collaborate to do an exclusive t-shirt design with their company to support raising funds for I Am Queen Mary.
These T-shirts are FIRE and were co-designed by Rachel Konte, La Vaughn Belle, Jeannette Ehlers and Julia Johnson. We are so excited to offer them as one of the main rewards in our campaign, in addition to the tote bags. Both will be offered as rewards during our campaign which launches on August 27th.
See our pre-launch link on Indiegogo here.
La Vaughn Belle and Jeannette Ehlers will be joined by Ariana Gonzalez Stokas (Vice President for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Barnard College), Mabel O. Wilson (Nancy and George Rupp Professor of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, Columbia University), and Monica L. Miller (Associate Professor, Departments of Africana Studies and English, Barnard College) to discuss the significance of the statue at Barnard College. How does “I Am Queen Mary” contribute to or challenge the politics of public art, depictions of Black women in public art, and the history of Black women and representations of Black women in art at Barnard College?
To register for this free event see here:
Today marks the 2 year anniversary of the inauguration of I Am Queen Mary in Copenhagen. So much has happened since then and we are still in the process of finding a way to make the sculpture permanent. We are very happy to announce that we are getting very close as the Danish West Indian warehouse is no longer for sale and this impediment no longer exists. Our conversations with various agencies inside the Danish government have been positive and supportive.
Quite symbolically, today on the anniversary and during these challenging times, the sculpture has suffered yet another damage. We have begun working immediately on finding a solution to repair the work and appreciate your continuing support of this project.
We would like to also announce that the event that was planned at Barnard College on April 27th has been postponed. The Society for the Advancement of Scandanavian Studies conference, in which we were to be the keynote speakers on April 29th, has also been postponed, as well as the collateral duo exhibition at Pública in Puerto Rico which was to open May 1st. We look forward to being able to share with you when these events will be rescheduled.
In the spirit of our project we hope that we will all weather the uncertainty of these times with the fortitude of those we honor in I Am Queen Mary.
La Vaughn and Jeannette
March 31, 2020
At the end of 2020 we were happy to report that the sculpture was repaired. Additionally, we are closer to getting our permanent permission with a commitment of some financial support from the Danish government. We have also recently learned that the warehouse is no longer for sale and invite you to help push that I Am Queen Mary be granted permanent residency there. More updates soon. Thanks for your engagement without project.
Statement released on October 25, 2019
It has been just over a year and a half since we inaugurated I Am Queen Mary in front of the Danish West Indian warehouse in Copenhagen on March 31. 2018. As an artist-led project pushing into the public space to transform the narrative around colonial histories we assumed the responsibility of the financing, insurance, maintenance and public outreach of this project, something unusual for a project of this magnitude. The temporary nature of the work is directly a result of these issues as we continue to raise funds to make the figure into a bronze. This process means navigating various government and private agencies for funding and permissions and it is still on-going. Meanwhile, as we continue to maintain the sculpture it has braved the threat of vandalism and the harsh natural elements of the harborside. I Am Queen Mary is currently under repair as part of the chair has been damaged as well as other maintenance of the coral base will be attended to. We are encouraged by the support of the Danish government and their pledge to facilitate the making of a permanent work into a bronze and we continue to look for other financial supporters. Thanking all who have engaged with our project. For continued updates please see the project website: www.iamqueenmary.com.
On October 15, 2019, “I Am Queen Mary”, a human-scale monument memorializing resistance to Danish colonialism in the Caribbean and part of a transnational collaboration between artists La Vaughn Belle (U.S. Virgin Islands, Columbia ‘95, BCRW Artist-in-Residence) and Jeannette Ehlers (Denmark) will be installed at Barnard College. The sculpture sparks a number of important questions about public art, representations of black women, and the impacts of colonialism and slavery.
The “I am Queen Mary” statue to be installed at Barnard College is a scale iteration of the original 23-foot monument, which is currently on view in front of the West Indian Warehouse in Copenhagen, Denmark. It has received international press coverage since its unveiling in March 2018, including features the BBC, New York Times, The Guardian, VICE and Le Monde. On long-term loan to the College, it will be on view in Barnard Hall and open to the public.
The College community will welcome the sculpture in a brief ceremony on Tuesday, October 15, 2019 at 5pm. There will be a public event scheduled early in the spring semester where the community can interact with the artists to discuss the important questions the sculpture raises about public art, representation, and the place of “I Am Queen Mary” at Barnard College.
The sculpture was funded by the Ford Foundation Gallery for the exhibition “Radical Love” in June 2019.
For the full press release see here.
We will be presenting a version of I Am Queen Mary at an exhibition at the Ford Foundation Social Justice Gallery.
This is a free event with Registration.
Exhibition Opening
Tuesday, June 11, 2019
6:00 - 8:00 PM
Through the theme of Utopian Imagination, the trilogy of exhibitions in the gallery's inaugural year create a trajectory toward a more just future. The first exhibition, Perilous Bodies (March 4 - May 11, 2019), examined injustice through the intersecting lens of violence, race, gender, ethnicity, and class. Radical Love responds to the first show by offering love as the answer to a world in peril.
Love, in the context of this exhibition, is defined by a commitment to the spiritual growth and interconnectedness of the individual, their community, and stewardship of the planet. Guided by the powerful words of bell hooks, “Were we all seeing more images of loving human interaction, it would undoubtedly have a positive impact on our lives.” The works in Radical Love are grounded in ideas of devotion, abundance, and beauty; here, otherness and marginality is celebrated, adorned, and revered.
Curated by Jaishri Abichandani and Natasha Becker. Exhibiting Artists: Sue Austin ~ La Vaughn Belle & Jeannette Ehlers ~ Maria Berrio ~ Raúl de Nieves ~ Omar Victor Diop ~ Vanessa German ~ Jah Grey ~ Baseera Khan ~ Thomas Lanigan-Schmidt ~ McCallum & Tarry: Bradley McCallum & Jacqueline Tarry ~ Rashaad Newsome ~ Ebony G. Patterson ~ Jody Paulsen ~ Thania Petersen ~ Lina Puerta ~ Faith Ringgold ~ Athi-Patra Ruga ~ Nep Sidhu ~ Rose B. Simpson ~ Imani Uzuri ~ Lina Iris Viktor
31st March 2019 marked a year since the inauguration of I Am Queen Mary. And what a year! I Am Queen Mary has received a tremendous amount of attention globally and has proved that there’s a huge need for counter images to the domination of white male statues in public space. I Am Queen Mary has challenged Danish colonial amnesia while recognizing the legacies of resistance of those who survived and fought against it. The project also challenges the notion of whiteness with an alternative representation in an image of an empowered historical, present and futuristic black woman, giving recognition to black and brown peoples. We are proud that I Am Queen Mary has created a critical dialogue about the role of public art both near and far. Although like many impactful works, it has not been without criticism and even vandalism. We however fully expect the project to continue as it is becoming recognized as an important addition to the city of Copenhagen. It receives many visitors everyday, even those who have specifically traveled to Copenhagen to bear witness. We are happy to announce that with great support and wonderful enthusiasm from the private and public sector, both in Copenhagen and in the Virgin Islands, that we are working on making a permanent version in bronze in both locations. We still need to work on the funding of it all but anticipate a great deal of involvement as soon as we have the formalities in place.
For now we have been granted permission to extend the project in front of the Royal Cast Collection for another year.
Please keep checking out our recently added “NEWS” section of our website for the most current information on the project including speaking engagements and exhibitions.
Thank you for your continued interest and engagement with our project.
