SALLY

An Interdisciplinary Exhibition

DNA evidence suggests that Sarah ‘Sally’ Hemings and Thomas Jefferson had several children together. While a teenager in France with Jefferson’s family, Hemings had a chance at full freedom, but returned to America with Jefferson in 1791 when he was 47 years old. Many historians believe Hem- ings was already pregnant with her first child by Jefferson when she returned. She lived out most of her life as a slave on Jefferson’s Monticello plantation, in quarters adjacent to his that have recently been restored.

SALLY, a collaborative project, brings together artists, writers, and performers intrigued by how the quest for intimacy can alter the trajectory of a woman’s life. Some explore the narratives of women, like Sally Hemings, whose destinies are inextricably interwoven with those they knew, and whose lives have often been erased or forgotten. Others infuse their work and method- ologies with an urgency that underscores their compulsion to map their own and others’ undaunted passion and drive.

At this critical juncture, with women’s autonomy once again under attack, another meaning of sally seems particularly relevant: a sudden charge out of a besieged place. SALLY explores how artists confront myriad issues of agency, and use community and collaboration to undercut the status quo, and construct lives of integrity and purpose.

SALLY Participants: Lauren Frances Adams, Meredith Bergmann, Deborah Castillo, Sasha Chavchavadze, Maureen Connor, Katya Grokhovsky, Robin Holder, Jee Hwang, Tatiana Istomina, Fabiola Jean–Louis, Carole Kunstadt, Paula Lalala, Nancy Lunsford, Jennifer Mack–Watkins, JoAnne McFarland, Elizabeth Moran, Amanda Nedham, Ann Shostrom, Marisa Williamson, Philemona Williamson, Hong Chun Zhang.