Alien She

This nationally touring exhibition (formerly referred to as "Jigsaw Youth") is the first to critically examine the lasting impact that Riot Grrrl—the widely influential but briefly lived global punk feminist movement—has had on artists today. The movement, born in Washington D.C. and the Pacific Northwest in the early-to-mid-1980s, addressed issues such as domestic abuse, sexuality, racism, and patriarchy, with emphases on youth and female empowerment, collaborative organization, and DIY ethics. The exhibition is organized by the Miller Gallery at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) and is curated by Astria Suparak (formerly of CMU) and Ceci Moss of the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, both of whom possess deep roots in the Riot Grrrl movement. They have presented a "living history" of Riot Grrrl, with new work by a half-dozen contemporary artists significantly influenced by the movement's ethos, alongside a host of rare archival materials from its heyday—zines, flyers, videos, records, cassettes, and other ephemera. Engaging in direct dialogue with urgent, contemporary issues, the exhibition's public programming in Philadelphia included self-defense and self-publishing workshops, music shows, and a gallery talk.