Conversation with Janet Henry, New York, 2003

“A lot of what I’ve done, my work in particular, reflects my existence. And since I’m in the art world, a lot of the things I do address the art world, and how I and people like me fit into it,” Janet Henry explains. Henry describes herself as a feminist by necessity, influenced by the strong matriarchal structure of her family. For her, “the idea of being less valuable in any culture than a man is, on the face of it, inconceivable. … Feminism involves a kind of stance, in response to things.” She recounts her mother’s determination to support her five children by becoming a nurse after separating from her father. “The women’s personalities were a lot more vibrant, personalities that stood out… so for those kinds of practical and un-theoretical, unlearned reasons, I’m a feminist.”

Henry shows examples of her artworks which use long long braided strands that she beads to form words and affixes to the wall. Many pieces from her last solo show at PPOW Gallery are made using this technique, spelling words such as “Ana" (Mendieta), “plethora,” “dirt”, “entitled,” “fear,” and “once.”

Henry notes that, as a visual artist, she largely works on her own. “I didn’t have a group I could identify with, that I could go out and do things with. Oh, actually, I did have something, but it was kind of secretive, in response to the art world.” During the civil rights movement, Henry got involved in How Are You? in Harlem. The program introduced her to a number of Black women artists who became role models, including Betty Blayton-Taylor, co-founder of Harlem Children’s Art Carnival and the Studio Museum. Janet Henry was also a part of the Women’s Action Coalition (WAC), a feminist direct-action organization founded in 1992. WAC combined the efforts of artists and lawyers to organize impactful actions. She shares examples of past initiatives, including her own involvement with the WAC drum corps: “It was real high energy and irreverent… The drum corps was kind of the heart of everything. It kept things moving.” Finally, she reflects on the challenges of sustaining momentum for long-term activism: “It’s kind of extemporaneous. It’s hard to turn it into an organ, to make it function on an organizational level. Also, WAC wasn’t so much an organization as a process.”