Annie Leibovitz's 'Women' Opens in Former NYC Prison

Annie Leibovitz's exhibition 'Women' has opened at the Bayview Correctional Facility in New York, a former prison repurposed as a venue. The show, which previously ran in Milan at the ex Fabbrica Orobia, occupies a non-traditional space: a 1930s Art Deco building originally built as Seamen's House, later converted into a women's prison in the 1970s. The exhibition runs until December 11, 2016, after which the building will be restored and reopened in 2020 as a women's community center. The venue carries heavy significance: it was revealed in 2010 that Bayview had the highest rate of sexual abuse by staff of any U.S. prison. The facility closed after Hurricane Sandy due to environmental damage. Former inmates serve as guides, including Zina, who spent two years there and now sits on the committee deciding the building's future. The exhibition includes a portrait of Venus and Serena Williams embracing, inspired by a newspaper photo after Serena's loss at the U.S. Open. The introductory text by Gloria Steinem argues that gender divisions are socially constructed and that cooperation has been undervalued compared to competition. The show features women as independent, courageous figures, with a library of books by artists like Diane Arbus, Sally Mann, Letizia Battaglia, and Cindy Sherman.