Badass Art Woman Awards Celebrates Resilience and Power of Art
On September 29th, the Angel Orensanz Foundation hosted the fifteenth Badass Art Woman Awards, an event that celebrated resilience, beauty, truth, and the power of art in a world hostile to difference. The evening embodied a duality of intellect and glamour, with bespoke cocktails, candelabras, and music by DJ MD and Mia X setting the stage for a powerful manifesto.
The honorees, Dr. Deborah Willis, Helen Toomer, and Ebony L. Haynes, were celebrated as part of a chorus, flanked by fifteen women nominated as 'Fellow Badasses' in advocacy. Their contributions to art and culture placed them in a lineage of women who made creation an act of defiance, stretching across centuries. The event served as a declaration that resilience is radiance in defiance, beauty is a form of rebellion, and collecting art shapes the future.
Project for Empty Space, founded by Rebecca Pauline Jampol and Jasmine Wahi, has expanded into a constellation of studios, residencies, and cultural corridors in Newark and Manhattan under their leadership. The non-profit organization aims to give visibility to women, femmes, and artists of color. Vangeline, a dancer, choreographer, and teacher specialized in Japanese Butoh, was principally involved in its founding.
The fifteenth Badass Art Woman Awards, organized by Project for Empty Space, was a celebration of strength, courage, and the transformative power of art. The event ended with an after-party at the Angel Orensanz Foundation, descending into purple light and deepened music, leaving attendees inspired and empowered.
