Mónica Mayer | El Tendedero
In the fall of 2019, Women4Change and dozens of Indianapolis organizations banded together to present El Tendedero/The Clothesline Indiana, a locally engaged activation of Mónica Mayer’s 1978 work addressing violence against women. Exhibiting in all 92 Indiana Counties at over 150 events, El Tendedero has created a space for Hoosier women to share their stories, heightened awareness of violence against women in Indiana, and pushed for the Indiana legislature to define consent within state law.
Moderator Shannon Linker (Vice President, Arts Council of Indianapolis and director of Gallery 924) lead a panel discussion to unpack how artists and organizations can be catalysts for change and engage community to bring an end to rape culture and the systemic oppression of women.
Mónica Mayer studied Visual Arts in Mexico, received an MA in Sociology of Art from Goddard College and participated in the Feminist Studio Workshop at the Woman’s Building in Los Angeles. Her work as an artist includes performances, drawing, writing, teaching and activism. She founded Polvo de Gallina Negra (Black Hen’s Dust) – the first feminist art collective in Mexico- with Maris Bustamante in 1983. In 1989, with Victor Lerma she started Pinto mi Raya, a long term applied conceptual art project whose goal is to lubricate the art system and has led to the creation of an important archive. Mayer has published several books, including Rosa chillante: mujeres y performance en México (Bright Pink: Women and Performance in Mexico). She had a column in El Universal newspaper for twenty years. She has participated in major international exhibitions such as WACK: Art and the Feminist Revolution at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles and MoMA Ps1 and Radical Women: Latin American Art, 1960–1985 at the Hammer Museum. She is a member of the Sistema Nacional de Creadores (National System of Creators) with a project on art and archives.
Rima Shahid has served as the first Executive Director of Women4Change since 2017. Before Women4Change, Rima served as the Executive Director of the Muslim Alliance of Indiana, and spent more than a decade working as the Trade Development Officer & Cultural Attaché at the Pakistan Embassy in Bahrain. With a passion for advocacy and a collaborative philosophy, Rima brings a unique perspective to community outreach objectives. She lives in Central Indiana with her husband, Muneeb, and their three children.
Shannon Linker is the Vice President of Artist Services & Engagement for the Arts Council of Indianapolis. She has been with the council for 18 years. She oversees all programming and services for artists including the Indianapolis Artsgarden, public art at the Arts Council and Gallery 924. Along with curating and managing the council’s contemporary gallery space, Shannon serves the local professional artist community by creating programs and services intended to help build their careers.
In 2004 Shannon led the development of the Arts Council’s first Artist Services programming that focused on professional development, e-communications, and round table discussions with artists to discover current needs of professional artists of all disciplines.
Shannon has taught Art History at the college level for six years and served on the advisory board for IDADA (Indianapolis Downtown Artists and Dealers Association) for the past seven years. She currently serves on the Advisory Board of the Ivy Tech Community College School of Fine Arts & Design as well as serves as Chairperson for the Public Art for Neighborhoods Selection Committee, a program of the Arts Council of Indianapolis and the City of Indianapolis and is a member of the board of directors for Indiana Artisan. She holds a BFA in Art History from the University of North Texas and a MA in Art History from Texas Woman’s University.