Anna Dickie Olesen was the first woman nominated to run for Senate by a major political party. She is a part of the Ramsey County Historical Society's exhibit Persistence. Persistence: Continuing the Struggle for Suffrage and Equality, 1848-2020 (rchs.com) It is only fitting that she is also the first Brart portrait I've ever made. People often ask how I came up with Brart. As part of the RFP process for the Persistence exhibit, the Ramsey County Historical Society had posted a list of women they were thinking of featuring in the exhibit. When I was reading though the list of women, I was amazed by all of their accomplishments and I immediately thought 'And they all probably did this in a corset.' So of course my mind made the mental leap to take old bras, cut them up, and make a portrait. I believe that the message is in the medium of art, and I strive to use recycled/repurposed materials. I want you to think not just about aesthetic level, but additionally about where it came from. I repurposed fabric from donated/used bras to create a fabric collage portrait. Often when I think of the suffrage movement, I am inspired when I think of everything they accomplished while wearing restrictive corsets. The suffrage movement represents a breaking of bondage, I believe the shift from corsets to bras also represents that breakage from bondage. While it seems taboo to highlight bras, undergarments are generally something very personal, yet is also very universal. Voting is the same; very personal, yet universal at the same time. We all know a bra is there for support, and I believe that through the medium of bras, viewers could reflect on what it means to support women to participate in politics. Social change takes the work of many people. As a Minnesotan, I’m proud that the the first woman nominated to run for Senate is from Minnesota. I hope my unusual bra art helps you remember the name Anna Dickie Olson and gives you a reason to bring her up in conversation. We stand on the shoulders of women who came before us. Youtube links: Persistence Exhibition: Artist Sadie Ward - YouTube Sadie Ward's 2nd Video - YouTube RCHS Persistence Exhibition Virtual Celebration - YouTube History Revealed: The Art and History of the Persistence Exhibition - YouTube Process shots
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AuthorMinnesota native, Sadie started making brart (bra-art) in 2019. Archives
February 2024
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