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The “Dirty” Laundry Moves from the Back Porch to the Mint Museum

by Andrea Downs on October 29, 2020

Airing Out the “Dirty” Laundry is an ongoing community art movement that responds to the silencing of women by creating space to share experiences through visual storytelling. This collaborative movement addresses the need and right to speak and be heard.

It started in 2018 with an installation on the back porch (because it was raining) of its creator, Andrea Downs. It was helped along by a $250 HUG Micro-Grant. From then, it moved to venues across Charlotte, building up steam as it went until it landed, just before the advent of COVID-19, at the Mint Museum Uptown.

Now, after long last, you can see it on display through November 29th.

The exhibition features the collective voices of nearly 400 ‘Laundry Day’ participants who have chosen to hang their visual narratives on the line. The exhibition serves as a compilation of women’s stories exhibited collectively for the first time. This work is a collaborative exhibition, as well as an invitation to share and engage in a collective narrative.

The layered components of these works invite viewers to recognize the public representation of the artist’s narrative as well as the layered stories underneath. Protective gloves are provided for viewers to engage with women’s stories, the postcard reflection area, and the Laundry Room space.

Visit the exhibit now at the Mint Museum Uptown. Get information, hours and directions here.