Manhattan museum intends to destigmatize sex work
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The Sex Workers’ Pop-Up opened on Tuesday. Eagle photo by Victoria Merlino
By Victoria Merlino
A new exhibition highlighting the experiences and perspectives of sex workers from around the world debuted in Manhattan on Tuesday, with art, first-person accounts and discussions intended to destigmatize the consensual exchange of sex and money.
The Sex Workers’ Pop-Up details the lives of sex workers through drawings, photos and installations by 21 artists — many of whom are sex workers themselves.
“Sex work is often misunderstood, misrepresented and stigmatized in the United States and across the world,” said Sebastian Köhn, project director for Sexual Health and Rights at Open Society Foundations. The organization curated the exhibition in partnership with the Soze Agency.
“Criminalization makes it difficult for sex workers to challenge exploitation and abuse — perpetuating stigma, violence and impunity,” Köhn continued. “Through this exhibit, we are asking visitors to listen to the voices of sex workers, and question the perceptions and policies that hurt them.”
One of the pieces, “Mouth of the Coalmine,” was developed by Red Canary Song, an advocacy organization that formed in response to the death of Flushing massage worker Yang Song, who fell to her death from a balcony during an NYPD Vice Unit raid in 2017. Song’s death sparked a larger conversation in Queens about the rights of sex workers, which continues into the present.
“This installation attempts to bridge the history of where Red Canary started toward a larger future of Red Canary organizing around Asian American sex workers and Asian American labor organizers,” Empress Wu, one of the artists behind the piece and an organizer with Red Canary Song.
Other featured creators include multimedia artist and poet Pluma Sumaq, journalist Molly Crabapple, filmmaker, artist and educator Annie Sprinkle, comedian and artist Jacq the Stripper, social practice artist Midori, photographer Kisha Bari, Thai sex worker advocacy group Empower Foundation and the Sex Workers Academy, Africa, among others.
The space will host a series of events highlighting the voices of sex workers, which can be found at sexworkerspopup.org. On Sunday, former Queens District Attorney candidate Tiffany Cabán will host a town hall with sex workers about the fight for decriminization in New York.
The pop-up will continue through March 16, and will be open to the public for free from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. each day at 9 West 8th St. in Manhattan.
