Mayor Adams Announces City Hall to Display Artist Elena Del Rivero's Home Address Exhibit on International Women's Day

March 8, 2023

Video available at: https://youtu.be/Tlbpfhht05A

Del Rivero’s ‘Home Address’ Series, Consisting of Flag-Like Banners Resembling Dish Towels, Was Launched in 2020 to Coincide With Centennial Anniversary of Women’s Suffrage in U.S.

Flags Have Since Been Displayed at Institutions Across Nation.

NEW YORK – New York City Mayor Eric Adams today displayed artist Elena del Rivero’s participatory public artwork, “Home Address,” in the New York City Hall Rotunda in honor of International Women’s Day. After today, components of the work will remain on view in the Governors Room through the end of March. Home Address consists of large flags resembling stained dish towels, reflecting the artist’s commentary on the complex and shifting roles of women through history.

“This International Women’s Day, we are honoring women leaders throughout city government, highlighting how far we’ve advanced in the inclusion of women in positions of power, and recognizing all that there still remains to do to achieve greater equity,” said Mayor Adams. “Elena del Rivero’s ‘Home Address’ elevates the humble dishrag into a flag — the traditional emblem of power — and by highlighting this work here at City Hall, we are recognizing the complex and shifting roles of women through history. In this administration alone, we have not only set the precedent that ensures that women have a seat at the table, but that they also have a strong voice in our efforts to ‘Get Stuff Done’ for New Yorkers. This installation honors women everywhere, and I am grateful to Elena for allowing us to portray her incredible talent at the center of our city’s government.

“In an administration led by dozens of brilliant women, I’m proud to stand alongside my sisters in government today to unveil Elena del Rivero’s powerful, thought-provoking installation here in City Hall,” said Deputy Mayor for Economic and Workforce Development Maria Torres-Springer. “As we celebrate the passage of the 19th Amendment over 100 years ago, this installation is a call for us to reflect on how far we’ve come, and the work that still lies ahead toward greater equity and inclusion for women of all backgrounds.”  

“Elena del Rivero’s Home Address is a powerful reminder and provocation for us to reflect on the struggle of women here and everywhere toward a fairer, more just society that supports us and uplifts our talents,” said New York City Department of Cultural Affairs Commissioner Laurie Cumbo. “I’m proud to be a woman, a working mother, a cultural leader, and to join my fellow women leaders in celebrating our victories and charting our collective course forward. Del Rivero does what artists do best and holds up a mirror for us to examine ourselves. I thank her for bringing this profound installation to City Hall.”

“The Public Design Commission, as the caretaker and curator of City Hall’s public art collection, strives to increase diversity and celebrate inclusion in our city,” said New York City Public Design Commission (PDC) Executive Director Sreoshy Banerjea. “We are thrilled to bring Elena del Rivero’s ‘Home Address’ installation into City Hall for International Women’s Day. The juxtaposition of the powerful banners resembling dish towels within the grand rotunda in City Hall is a testament to a more equitable and fairer society, where women can lead. As the executive director of PDC, and a mother to two little boys, I am so proud to witness this historic moment, where we can bring an intangible value to New York City, reflecting its unique identity and its values of tolerance, resiliency, and humanity.”

“The transposition from the kitchen — for so long seen as a place to confine women — to the public space and seat of government in New York City, this installation with common dishtowels is a celebratory monument for the struggle of women in history and their conquests and hard-won advancements that we commemorate today on the anniversary of the passing of the 19th amendment to the US Constitution,” said artist Elena del Rivero.  

Three flags from the Home Address series will be displayed in the City Hall Rotunda today, and a fourth flag will be on display in City Hall’s Governors Room until the end of March. Through Home Address, del Rivero has installed flags at institutions across the United States, including at both the Hispanic Society Museum and Library and the Spanish Consulate in New York; the University of Massachusetts Boston; the Rocky Mountain College in Billings, Montana; and at Xavier University in New Orleans, Louisiana.

This marks the second installation of new artwork displayed in City Hall, following the display of photos from Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre during Black History Month. These are the first two installments of a new, citywide initiative to exhibit work by local artists and arts groups in city buildings across the five boroughs. Last month, the Public Design Commission also launched Epicenter, a virtual tour led and created by Black Gotham Experience’s Kamau Ware that celebrates the achievements, struggles, and the historical resonance of the African Diaspora's impact on New York City within the built environment of City Hall. 

Del Rivero’s Home Address is a nationwide, multi-platform installation of 19 flags. The installation pays homage to the suffrage movement, the long struggle for women’s rights, the politics of domestic labor, and all voting rights left unprotected by the historic legislation of 1920, as well as all those still currently under threat today. Home Address is an initiative, initially coinciding with the 2020 centennial of the Nineteenth Amendment. The installation will be displayed at 19 locations around the nation. Del Rivero is a multi-disciplinary artist with a focus on painting and works on paper.

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