F*CK U! In The Most Loving Way

Our financial goal was at the minimum, break-even; at best, end up with a small profit. Updating and
maintaining this spreadsheet helped us manage unanticipated expenses and income. I trained
committee members on exhibition management and our hired publicist trained us on publicity. All
committee members met their commitments to the project, which included project management,
administration, artist interface, management of featured artists, publicity, financial management,
installation and de-installation of gallery, gallery curation, catalog, video, reception logistics, and event
logistics. Equally important, we were flexible, assuming multiple roles and assisting others when help
was needed.
The community involvement aspect of our project was undefined at the beginning but began to take
shape as the project progressed. In the end, we came up with three types of involvement. The first was
a response to the Now Be Here project in Los Angeles where more than 700 women artists posed
together in a photoshoot by Kim Schoenstadt on August 28, 2016. We decided to hold our own
Creating Space photoshoot at Yerba Buena Gardens on October 2, 2016. We invited our members and
randomly posted a call on Facebook for Bay Area artists to show up and be photographed. About 33
artists came, and committee member Mido Lee took the group portrait. This group shot was
supplemented by selfies of women outside of the Bay Area and we created a group poster. The second
was an invitation by Tanya Augsburg to her students to help videotape and photo-document the
opening reception and performance by Emma Sulkowicz and Violet Overn. The third was a
performance by Augsburg titled Kitchen Table Talk where the audience was invited to participate in
brainstorming and discussion. All of these expanded participation in our exhibition.
This project was a marathon and the committee faced challenges each step of the way. They included
negotiating with original Womanhouse artists on their vision of the show vs our vision, the amount of
time it took to follow up and manage each juried and featured artist, managing the project on a tight
budget and determining when we could/could not allow for scope creep, overcoming a steep learning
curve on publicity, providing backup when a committee member could not attend an event or work on
the project due to travel, work or family conflicts, finding a venue for our video screenings,
performance and Womanhouse reunion, changing the focus and tone of the exhibition when Hillary
Clinton did not win the Presidential election, figuring out staffing alternatives when not enough people
signed up to volunteer for all of the events, dealing with low attendance on some of our events, and
realizing that we would have to cancel our closing panel, reception and party because they coincided
with the Women’s Marches all over the country on January 21, 2017. That we worked through them as
a collective speaks to how professional and well-organized we were. In the end, we produced F*ck U!
In the Most Loving Way, a successful exhibition that was ahead of other anti-Trumpism shows of
protest, resistance, and nasty women.
Priscilla Otani
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