is a nationwide collaborative art and travel project celebrating the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment and the 72 years-long nonviolent fight that kicked open voting for women in the United States by artist, Marilyn Artus.

These are the 36 states that ratified the 19th amendment into law.

HER FLAG IS PASSIONATE ABOUT CELEBRATING AN IMPORTANT MOMENT IN HISTORY FOR AMERICAN WOMEN

Women gaining the right to vote.

The hundredth anniversary of the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution is in 2020.

It took 36 states to ratify the 19th amendment into law. In June of 2019, Marilyn Artus, will begin a 14 month road trip over 17 separate trips, traveling in order of ratification to all 36 states that ratified the amendment, to collaborate with a women artist in each state. Together they will create a flag with 36 stripes, one for each of the ratifying states.

Each artist will publicly hand her the stripe representing her state and Marilyn will sew it onto the flag in her capital city. She will engage with each local community to provide a woman musician or performer the opportunity to participate in this celebration as well. The public will be invited to witness this performance and take a moment to remember this important anniversary. 

We hope this project provides a moment for all who participate, donate, or watch one of the 36 public flag sewing performances across the country, to celebrate this anniversary. This project is about moving forward. This project is not about Democrats or Republicans. It is about Americans and celebrating an important anniversary in our history and how we can encourage more women to be involved in our democracy. The year 2020 will be our next presidential election year. It is sure to be a tough year full of negative politics.The journey and the completed flag are a thank you and a visual love letter to the states that gave women the right to vote.

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RAISING AWARENESS OF MINORITIES AND WOMEN OF COLOR WITHIN THE SUFFRAGE FIGHT

The 19th amendment states: The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. This amendment did legally give all women the right to vote, but, laws within each state varied and did create complications for many women in exercising this right. Jim Crow Laws in the South impeded many African Americans from voting until the 1960s and Native Americans did not have full voting rights in all 50 states until 1970. Asian-American women could not vote until 1952. Women's history is often times over looked, we think this anniversary is an opportunity to celebrate and discuss the many challenges related to voting in the past and present for women and people of color.

We featured a woman of color from the suffrage era everyday on Instagram for Black History Month. We are not interested in talking about Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and other well known suffrage fighters, there will be plenty of projects doing that. We will be focusing on women like Ida B Wells, Miriam Leslie, Victoria Woodhull, Mary McLeod Bethune, Sojourner Truth, Harriet Forten Purvis and so many more. We will continue to use our social media platforms to feature these women. 

This is one of the stickers in our Unknown Suffrage Fighters Sticker pack that is one of the donation rewards. The illustrations for these stickers were made by artist Sarah Atlee with design by Todd Clark.

ABOUT THE CREATOR OF HER FLAG: MARILYN ARTUS

Marilyn is an artist who explores the female experience in her works. She has been a giftware designer, curator, event planner, burlesque promoter, and female artist mentor. 

She is currently creating mixed media collages with hand and machine embroidery. The Her Flag project is a larger version of the work she is currently creating but rather than combining materials it combines the history and experience of the 36 women artists that she will be collaborating with.

Some highlights of her career so far have been solo and group gallery and museum shows in New York, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Tennessee and Washington. She won the Brady Craft Alliance Award for Innovation in fiber arts in 2011 and in 2010 led and art making workshop at the Brooklyn Museum in New York in association with the retrospective exhibit 'Seductive Subversion" Women Pop Artists, 1958-1968.' Marilyn is currently represented by The Arts Company is Nashville, Tenn.

In 2003, she co-founded The Girlie Show, an all female art festival attend by thousands, that ran for 10 years encouraging all kinds of female creativity with participants from throughout the U.S. In 2009, She read in Bust magazine about a cabaret life drawing class that was founded in New York City, Dr. Sketchy's Anti Art School by Molly Crabapple, She flew to New York met with Molly and started a branch in Oklahoma City that she had the time of my life running for 3 years.

In 2011, she created a body of work that highlighted women that lived and fought for the right to vote for women in the U.S. To create these works, she dove into the research. She fell in love with this time period and the women she met. I know this might sound strange, but she didn’t realize how hard this fight was. That generations of women who fought for the right to vote died before the 19th amendment was passed.

Marilyn had never read about women like Ida B. Wells, Frances Wright, Victoria Woodhull and Miriam Leslie in her school textbooks growing up. Reading and learning about this time in American history became a passion for her. 

WHY AM I MAKING HER FLAG?

My family has been in the United States since its inception. I have three ancestors who fought in the Revolutionary War and my great great great grandmother Jesse Hayes was an early member of The Daughters of the Revolution. Two family members fought for the Union during the Civil War and were captured and held in Confederate prisons. I also had family that came West in the 19th century. I have a family legacy that has actively participated in the American dream since its founding. I want to continue that legacy of service through my art making, by honoring the 100th anniversary of the 19th amendment and voting for women in America.

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A WOMAN ARTIST TO REPRESENT EACH RATIFYING STATE

We had a national call for artists and 341 artists apply to be in the Her Flag project from coast to coast. We are delighted by the diversity and talent of the selected 36 artists. They will all be creating new work to represent their state.

TO HIGHLIGHT JUST A FEW OF THE SELECTED 36 ARTISTS:

Nicole LaRue, the designer of the Women's March on Washington logo is representing New Hampshire.

Higgins Bond, a noted book illustrator and the first African American Woman to illustrate a stamp for the United State Postal Service, will be representing Tennessee.

Jan Haworth will be representing Utah. She was the co-creator of The Beatles Sgt. Pepper's iconic album cover and a pioneer of fiber art sculpture in the 1960's.

THIS IS THE LIST OF ALL 36 ARTIST COLLABORATORS:

• Madison, WI  |  June 10, 2019 - JENIE GAO

• Springfield, IL  |  June 12, 2019 - JUDITH MAYER

• Lansing, MI  |  June 14, 2019 - ANN LEWIS

• Topeka, KS  |  June 17, 2019 - JENNIFER HUDSON 

• Albany, NY  |  July 17, 2019 - INDIRA CESARINE

• Columbus, OH  |  July 21, 2019 - LINDSAY SCOTT

• Harrisburg, PA  |  July 23, 2019 - JAMEELA WAHLGREN 

• Boston, MA  |  July 25, 2019 - KARI PERCIVAL

• Austin, TX  |  August 10, 2019 - MILA SKETCH

• Des Moines, IA  |  August 24, 2019 - ANNIE SWARM GULDBERG

• Jefferson City, MO  |  August 26, 2019 - RORI DE RIEN

• Little Rock, AR  |  August 28, 2019 - VIRMARIE DEPOYSTER

• Helena, MT  |  September 21, 2019 -  JANE WAGGONER DESCHNER

• Lincoln, NE  |  September 24, 2019 - CINDY CHINN

• St Paul, MN  |  September 26, 2019 - ANNE ULKU

• Concord, NH  |  October 12, 2019 - NICOLE LARUE

• Salt Lake City, UT  |  November, 6, 2019 - JANN HAWORTH

• Sacramento, CA  |  November 9, 2019 - RORA BLUE

• Augusta, ME  |  January 11, 2020 - AMIE KENNEDY

• Bismarck, ND  |  January 28, 2020 - DARBY NESS

• Pierre, SD  |  January 30, 2020 - KLAIRE LOCKHEART

• Denver, CO  |  February 1, 2020 - SUSAN COOPER

• Frankfort, KY  |  February 12, 2020 - LINDA ERZINGER

• Providence, RI  |  February 15, 2020 - ALLISON COLE

• Salem, OR  |  February 28, 2020 - DAVIDA FERNANDEZ

• Indianapolis, IN  |  March 19, 2020 - BONNIE FILLENWARTH

• Cheyenne, WY  |  March 22, 2020 - BETHANN GARRAMON MERKLE

• Carson City, NV  |  March 25, 2020 - LISA JEAN ALLSWEDE

• Trenton, NJ  |  April 10, 2020 - DONNA BASSIN

• Boise, ID  |  April 25, 2020 - VINA DOMINGO

• Phoenix, AZ  |  April 28, 2020 - TALISA LOPEZ-GARCIA

• Santa Fe, NM  |  April 30, 2020 - LAUREL GARCIA COLVIN

• Oklahoma City, OK  |  May 16, 2020 - DENISE DUONG

• Charleston, WV  |  June 11, 2020 - SAVANNAH SCHROLL GUZ

• Olympia, WA  |  July 17, 2020 - ERIN SHIGAKI

• Nashville, TN  |  August 18, 2020 - HIGGINS BOND

GO TO HERFLAG.COM FOR MORE INFO ABOUT THEM

WHY IFUNDWOMEN?

We are here to find partners as much as funding. Our goal is to celebrate this historic anniversary in American history with as many people as possible. Her Flag is a way for you to be an activist in an inclusive way. It took Republican, Democrat,  women, men, black and white Americans working together to get the 19th amendment passed.

The Her Flag team is passionate about the importance of this anniversary and didn't want to rely on someone to celebrate and educate about this important moment in history. You donation puts you in the Her Flag family of donors and sponsors and gives you a piece of ownership in art that values women and the contributions they have made to the American story.

This is a big project, we know. It is going to take a lot of financial support to help us realize this project. We hope that you will support us and that you will ask your family, friends and neighbors to contribute as well.

HOW ARE WE GOING TO USE THE MONEY

• We are paying our 36 artist collaborators $1,000 each for a total of $36,000 (artists, and in particular women, are so often asked to work for free)

• Our amazing full time Project Manager, Stefanie Leland $40,000

• Cost of creating the flag stripes $3,000

• We are hiring graphic designers, a PR specialist, social media expert, film maker and editor. $19,000

• We need $15,000 in gas money for a road trip this large.

• We need to pay for hotel stays and food. $24,150
• And many many more not so glamorous ways we have to spend the money

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OUR ESTIMATED BUDGET FOR HER FLAG IS $181,945

OUR GOAL IS TO RAISE $100,000 WITH THIS CAMPAIGN. DUE TO THE SCOPE AND LENGTH OF THE PROJECT, WE ARE PLANNING A SECOND CROWDFUNDING CAMPAIGN IN 2020. 

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We have lots of ideas on how to expand the project even more, depending on the money we have to work with. For instance, we would LOVE to have a documentary film made about Her Flag, we want to pay our performers at each capital city stop and a book about the project to name a couple ideas.

DETAILS ABOUT THE REWARDS FOR DONATING!

BELOW ARE THE 17 ROAD TRIPS THAT MAKE UP THE HER FLAG JOURNEY FROM JUNE 2019 TO AUGUST 2020.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION!

Her Flag is a NEW YORK FOUNDATION FOR THE ARTS sponsored project. FOR MORE INFORMATION, GO TO HERFLAG.COM