Celebrate International Women’s Day with 365 Foundation at its first Female Solo Artist event on Friday, from 7 p.m. until 9 p.m., in Landale.
Kristina Bivona will present the inaugural solo art exhibition Paper Dolls by filling the gallery with pop-up books and experimental prints. Acting as a bridge between women’s liberation and the complexities of being sexualized, underpaid, disenfranchised, and still celebratory for our identities, Bivona grapples with high femme queer presentation in Paper Dolls.
“First of all, it’s actually visually stunning because it’s very different. She has hanging books that you can kind of walk through, so it’s a little immersive,” said 365 Founder and CEO Natalie Venezia. “Her background has given her some lived-in experience for the topics which are women incarcerated, women’s reproductive rights, and sexuality.”
When asked why she started the foundation, Venezia points to experiences she has witnessed and lived through, especially in the arts.
“I had an idea to create a space that would nurture, promote, and show, support, and empower women or people who identify as women and young people in the LGBTQ+ community because I saw there was an absence of that where I live.”
In addition to the Bivona’s Paper Dolls, the evening’s special guest speaker is State Representative Liz Hanbidge (D-61), along with music by jazz singer Maci Miller and live tattoo art by local Lansdale artist Bella Ryan.
International Women’s Day hails back to 1910 when Clara Zetkin proposed creating an annual Women’s Day to champion women’s rights and suffrage at the International Conference for Working Women in Copenhagen. The idea received unanimous approval, sparking the inaugural International Women’s Day in 1911 across Austria, Denmark, Germany, and Switzerland.
Today, International Women’s Day holds significant importance for gender equality and women’s rights. It provides a platform to raise awareness about women’s rights and struggles in various sectors, including social, economic, cultural, and political achievements.
All works are for sale and tickets to the event are $10.
365 Foundation a private, all-volunteer, all-donation-based organization that relies on community support and is located at 305 West Main Street in Lansdale.
