Hi! I’m Jen, a Menstrual Designer, Taboo Crusher & Exhibit Planner. What that means is that I use visual art to challenge social stigma surrounding the menstruating body and elevate menstrual blood from its “icky” status. Widening the Cycle is my curatorial debut and I need your help to make the exhibit a smashing success!
Thanks for checking out my project & learning about how YOU can “widen the cycle!”
Widening the Cycle a pop-up social justice art show addressing the complex issues pertaining to menstruation and reproductive justice. The collection will be on display in Boston, MA during the joint meeting of the Society for Menstrual Cycle Research and theCenter for Women’s Health & Human Rights at the Suffolk University Law School on June 4 – 6, 2015. Widening the Cycle is free and open to the public.
This unique 3-day exhibit threads together global voices to raise consciousness about menstruation and reproductive justice through feminist art. When it comes crushing old, insidious taboos is there any better catalyst than art?
Why Is This Important?
As feminist journalist Jessica Valenti points out: “When we have the power to create our own images en masse, we have the power to create a new narrative – one that flies in the face of what the mainstream would like us to look and act like.”
Menstruation is a human right that must be made visible in order to become part of the broader gender equality discussion. Together we seek to disrupt the negative cultural stigma surrounding the menstrual cycle and replace it with one that reflects the real thoughts, emotions and experiences of menstruators. The mission of Widening the Cycle is to positively impact and energize the public discourse at large around menstruation through the use of thought-provoking visual imagery.
I Need Your Support!
I’ve been planning and building Widening the Cycle since the 2013 biennial conference of the Society for Menstrual Cycle Research ended. In fact, over 50 artists from 12 countries submitted their artwork for display in this special exhibit. Unfortunately, the response from academic and corporate co-sponsors did not mimic the enthusiasm of the artists. I have this incredible show planned, 36 artists’ participation confirmed and a venue locked in place, but no funds to make it happen. I’m asking for YOUR help in bringing Widening the Cycle to life and revolutionizing how society regards the menstruating body!
How Will Your Money Be Used?
In order to create a museum or gallery quality exhibit, I need to raise $9,100. Your donation will contribute directly to exhibition costs related to the execution of Widening the Cycle.Who knew hangin’ some art could be such a costly endeavor?!
Exhibition expenses include:
Also baked into the total:
NOTE: RocketHub is not an investment or charity. It is an exchange: funds from supporters for Goods from me. It’s a “keep what I raise” funding mechanism: if I don’t reach my financial goal I get to keep what I raise.
I know $9,100 is a lot of money to raise in 25 days, but I’m confident we can do it together! And for a little extra incentive, I’ve created some awesome Goods for Widening the Cyclebackers (listed on the right).
And guess what! Your donation is TAX-DEDUCTIBLE!
Help Me Make Connections!
If you aren’t able to financially back Widening the Cycle now, please share my crowd-funding campaign with your friends on social media as well as any women’s organizations you know would be interested in my project. It is imperative we ban together to end menstrual taboo and start making menstruation matter!
#MenstruationMatters #SMCR2015 #WideningtheCycle #CWHHR
Widening the Cycle: A Menstrual Cycle & Reproductive Justice Art Show is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization. Contributions for the purposes of Widening the Cycle: A Menstrual Cycle & Reproductive Justice Art Show must be made payable to Fractured Atlas and are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.
Denver, CO
Member since: April 17, 2015
Jen Lewis is the Conceptual Artist and Menstrual Designer behind Beauty in Blood, a bold, transformative macrophotography and video art project that confronts social taboos pertaining to menstruation and the female body. She received her B.A. in the History of Art from the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) in 2001. Her work has been displayed in group exhibitions internationally, such as Women at the Contemporary Art Institute of Detroit (United States), Period Pieces at the Urban Artroom (Sweden), the 9th Annual Juried Art Show atThe Kinsey Institute (United States) and Art to Change the World at ArtPrize® (United States). Jen is an active member of the Society for Menstrual Cycle Research with a monthly “Menstrual Pin-Up” series on their blog, re:Cycling, and is curating a menstrual art show entitled “Widening the Cycle” for the biennial conference in 2015. Additionally, Jen is a Planning Committee Member for the Feminist Art Conference (FAC) based in Toronto as well as the FAC Documentation Coordinator/Video Archivist. She currently lives and works in Denver, Colorado.