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New Billboard and Virtual Artist Talk: “Holy” by Donna Ferrato

About HOLY Holy is forged from one woman’s outrage against a woman-hating world. May it anger you. Donna Ferrato’s radical photographs show what women are capable of surviving. More than survive, Holy depicts women who prevail. Holy is an invitation to understand how it feels being held down by the patriarchy-what we are fighting for, what we are up against–and how we manage to maintain a sense of desire and appetite. Fighting for equality in the bedroom and the boardroom, Ferrato’s journey follows the sexual revolution of the ’60s through the #metoo era of today.

Holy is a showcase of power. Donna’s images reveal women’s bodies in all their monstrous glory-even her own. May these photographs mobilize you, whether you are cis or trans, young or old, butch or femme. Human survival depends on women. Embrace your instincts, desires, brainpower, and strength. Embrace each other.


About the Artist – Donna Ferrato is an internationally-known documentary photographer. Her gifts for exploration, illumination, and documentation coupled with a commitment to revealing the darker sides of humanity, have made her a giant in the medium. She has participated in over 500 one-woman shows and has received awards such as the Robert F. Kennedy Award for Humanistic Photography (1987), the Missouri Honor Medal for Distinguished Service in Journalism (2003), and the Gender Fairness Award from the New York State Supreme Court Judges (2009). She founded a non-profit called Domestic Abuse Awareness for over a decade. In November 2016, TIME magazine announced her photograph of a woman being hit by her husband (1982) as one of the “100 Most Influential Photographs of All Time.” Currently, Ferrato is documenting her rapidly-changing New York neighborhood of Tribeca for a new book.

The Center for Integrative Photographic Studies and Your Art Here collaborated to unveil a billboard of Donna’s design with funding through the IU Public Arts Grant and the city of Bloomington.

Donna will present a virtual Artist Talk with funding support from OVPR and Your Art Here. You can register here.