F*CK U! In The Most Loving Way

ARC GALLERY MANAGING PARTNER STATEMENT
Each year-end, the Arc Gallery partners donate gallery space to a non-profit. In 2016, we invited the
Northern California Women’s Caucus for Art (NCWCA) to mount an exhibition. As both a gallery
partner and member of the NCWCA board, I was responsible for the smooth operation of the gallery
space and participated in the show’s development and administration.
When Exhibition Chair Leisel Whitlock first proposed an activist exhibition that referenced
Womanhouse, the NCWCA board members were immediately intrigued. Each of us had an idea of
what the exhibition might focus on, but many of us did not know enough about the history of the
original Womanhouse. After some readings and viewing Johanna Demetrakas's documentary video, we
discussed what the physical possibilities of such an exhibition might be at Arc Gallery. The gallery is not
a house as was the original exhibition site of Womanhouse. It is a former industrial space converted
into a multi-use building that includes two galleries, artist studios and micro-businesses. This meant
that the display and artwork in our main and project galleries could not create an obstacle course or a
fire hazard for the tenants. We abandoned the original concept of converting the gallery spaces into
separate rooms with two exceptions. The Arc consulting office had its own four walls that could be
used as a symbolic room. My studio upstairs was large enough and available to be used as a
performance space.
At the first (and only) exhibition committee meeting on June 5, 2016, we made key decisions and
agreed to roles that drove the project from beginning to end. This exhibition would explore women's
relational roles through racial, cultural and gender perspectives and would be given the provocative
title of F*ck U! In the Most Loving Way. This would be a national juried exhibition open to all women;
additionally, works of a few featured artists would be included, one or more original Womanhouse
artists would be invited, there would be some aspect of community involvement and we would allow
for a wide range of media including video and performance. We wanted to have either a professor or
gallerist to jury the national submissions, as well as to hire a professional publicist to publicize the
show and events, and later to create a comprehensive catalog and documentary video. As the
discussion progressed, the exhibition became ambitious. Complexity was added only when an
individual committed to owning that added scope. These agreements were critically important
because NCWCA is an all-volunteer organization. With less than six months to opening reception, our
project would have been disastrous if a key player dropped out or did not meet her commitments.
The F*ck U! project was managed through a project plan. Leisel Whitlock and I developed step by step
actions and milestones which were updated and enhanced from time to time. Leisel’s key
responsibility was to make sure each committee member met the schedule’s deliverables and
deadlines. I also developed a budget and income/expense spreadsheet so that we could track our
finances.
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