A Moment (Harriet Duren)

The text card reads:
“I was one of the first 40 women who joined the Department in 1982. When I came in, I was somewhat older–before this I had a career as a teacher and social worker. It was a big challenge to shift into a job that was much more physically driven.

“I remember the moment I knew that the hard work would be worthwhile. My team was called out to help a man who collapsed in the street when he was out with his wife and child. Fortunately we got there quickly, but we had to work for quite some time to revive him. After that, every year the family would come by the firehouse and bring us a cake to thank us for saving his life.”

Three sculptures based on interviews with members of the New York firefighter community created for an exhibit at Longhouse Projects and the New York City Fire Museum as part of Artadia’s 15th Anniversary Exhibition curated by Gianni Jetzer.

The goal of these pieces was to link stories from members of the contemporary firefighting community to the historic legacy documented at the Fire Museum. Through conversations with Harriet and Sarinya, I became particularly interested in the history of activism which enabled women to join the department in 1982 and continued struggles for more equitable representation today.

A Moment and Water in the Pipes were installed at the Fire Museum within their ongoing displays, while 41 was installed at Longhouse Projects in order to encourage cross-institutional investigation and due to the slightly different approach in interpreting the stories in the two groupings.

Special thanks to Sarinya Srisakul, Harriet Duren, and Lou Balioni for taking the time to speak with me about their experiences; Janice Chou for her production support; Gianni Jetzer for his curatorial direction; Sarah Judd for her help in bringing people into the project and hosting part of the exhibition; and Nicole Will and Carolyn Ramo for enabling the partnership and exhibition.