The City of Boston will declare Thursday, April 9, as “Riot Grrrl Day” in honor of Kathleen Hanna’s discussion later that night at the Wilbur Theatre.
Hanna, a pivotal and influential figure in the Riot Grrrl and third-wave feminism movement that rose to prominence in the early ’90s, will be presented with a proclamation from Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh’s office. Hanna’s discussion, co-presented by Vanyaland and Bill Blumenreich Productions, is titled “Riot Grrrl Then and Now,” and she will be officially introduced by the City of Boston’s Chief of Policy, Joyce Linehan.
Scan the mayor’s “Riot Grrrl Day” proclamation below, and read our interview with Hanna here.
“Kathleen was all about the collective, and it was a real team effort putting this together,” says Linehan, who knows Hanna personally from her days as a punk-rock promoter and A&R rep at Sub Pop. “There are a lot of Riot Grrrls in the building [at City Hall].”
Declaring Thursday “Riot Grrrl Day,” for Linehan, “marries two of my favorite things: political activism and the arts. The idea that women and girls should have a voice and be heard is something near and dear to my heart.”
Hanna’s talk is expected to draw on her experiences with ’90s punk group Bikini Kill to modern struggles of women around the world. Here is the official “Riot Grrrl Day” release from City Hall:
Mayor Walsh is a supporter of the arts across the spectrum, believing in the impact that creativity can have on a life, and on a community. Riot grrrl day will be proclaimed on April 9, 2015 in the City of Boston, to commemorate, celebrate, and actively promote the cultural significance of riot grrrl culture, and to inspire grrrls everywhere to shake up the status quo and create. Kathleen Hanna is performing at the Wilbur Theatre that night, and the proclamation will be presented at that time.
And here is the city’s official proclamation, to be presented at the Wilbur.
