Ain't I A Woman
Kingston, Ulster County
The midtown mural titled “Ain’t I a Woman?” was created during the 2015 and 6th annual O+ Festival by artists Jess X. Chen and Chip Thomas. The mural honors the well known speech by the same name that was delivered by Sojourner Truth (1797-1883), a 19th century abolitionist and women’s rights activist, at the 1851 Ohio Women’s Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio. Sojourner Truth was born into slavery south of Kingston in the village of Swartekill (near today’s Rifton). She gained her freedom in 1827 with New York’s abolition of slavery. Through her faith, lectures, and preaching, Truth would become one of the most vocal and prominent leaders of the national abolition and civil rights movement. In 2014 the Smithsonian Institute named Sojourner Truth one of the “100 Most Significant Americans of All Time.”
The O+ festival in Kingston is a 3-day event where artists and musicians exchange their participation for basic health care, dental and wellness services. Billed as “The Art of Medicine for the Medicine of Art”, the growing Kingston event features many forms of art media including paint, sculpture, dance, performance art and music. The first Kingston O+ festival took place in 2010. The most visible aspect of the festival is the large scale murals seen throughout the city.
