Gallery Exhibition, “Choice,” Combines Art with Abortion Rights Advocacy

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Jan. 22, 2015
Contact: Christie Petrone, [email protected], 646-520-3504

Gallery Exhibition, “Choice,” Combines Art with Abortion Rights Advocacy
Nancy Hoffman Gallery Exhibition Features Artist Michele Pred’s Limited-Edition Purses Bearing
Pro-Choice Messages, with Proceeds Benefiting NARAL Pro-Choice New York,
National Institute for Reproductive Health  

NEW YORK — An exhibition entitled “Choice,” running at the Nancy Hoffman Gallery from Jan. 29 to March 14, blends art with politics by showcasing artist Michele Pred’s limited-edition, vintage purses bearing support for reproductive rights. The signature event of the exhibition will be hosted by NARAL Pro-Choice New York and the National Institute for Reproductive Health, to honor young leaders who promote access to reproductive health and rights, on Feb. 4.

“On this 42nd anniversary of Roe v. Wade, we’re thrilled to announce this partnership with the very talented Michele Pred,” said Andrea Miller, president of NARAL Pro-Choice New York and the National Institute for Reproductive Health. “We commemorate the Roe anniversary by galvanizing today’s supporters to speak out and stand up against the wave of attacks on reproductive rights – and that’s exactly what Michele’s exhibition does. Her vintage purses and bold statements serve as small-scale billboards, tapping into both the history of restrictions on access to abortion and the growing urge from the multitudes of pro-choice allies to broadcast a very public message of support for the right to abortion.”

The exhibition consists of several series of “Pred- à -Porter” purses, made from vintage handbags from the 1950s and 1960s. Each purse bears text supporting reproductive rights spelled out using electroluminescent wire, as well as several other works centered on the themes of choice and equality.

NARAL Pro-Choice New York and the National Institute for Reproductive Health, which work to promote reproductive rights and expand reproductive health care in New York and in cities and states across the country, will host the annual Irwin Schneiderman Pioneer Award event at the Nancy Hoffman Gallery on Feb. 4. A percentage of the proceeds from the sale of the “Pro-Choice” series of Pred- à -Porter  purses will benefit the organizations.

“I chose purses as my canvas as a way to marry the politically charged messages of the pro-choice movement with representations of women’s modern economic power and the possibilities for change that come with it,” said Pred. “For me, the use of purses from the mid-twentieth century also calls back to that critical era and reminds us how much has changed and, more importantly, how much has not.”

Michele Pred is a Swedish-American conceptual artist, whose work is part of the permanent collection at the 21stCentury Museum, The Fashion Institute of Technology New York, the Contemporary Museum in Honolulu and the Di Rosa Preserve in Napa, Calif. Michele Pred is an adjunct professor at California College of the Arts.

To view the “Choice” exhibit, visit the Nancy Hoffman Gallery between Jan. 29 and March 14. To obtain press credentials for the Irwin Schneiderman Pioneer Award Event on Feb. 4, contact Christie Petrone at [email protected]. Visit the exhibition online at nancyhoffmangallery.com.