Browse through the cards to see previous El Tendedero Indiana responses

El Tendedero was originally conceived as a participatory work by artist Mónica Mayer in 1978. For the first iteration, women were asked to respond to the prompt, “As a woman, what don’t you like about your city?” Women wrote their responses on small pieces of paper and attached them to a clothesline. Since then, El Tendedero has occurred in many locations, centering the experiences of women across the globe.

In 2019, Women4Change invited Mayer to activate El Tendedero in Indiana. For this iteration women were again invited to provide their responses to prompts this time reflecting on their experiences with sexual assault. This project culminated in the display of over 1,500 response cards in the Indiana State House demonstrating the need to pass legislation that legally defines consent.

With generous support from Ann Stack and Women4Change, El Tendedero/The Clothesline Indiana was acquired by the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields in 2020. Additional funding from Ann Stack provided the opportunity to digitize over 1,500 response cards on display here.