FROM REVERENCE TO
RAPE TO RESPECT

For 10 days in April 1978, ARIADNE in an extended art performance took on the pervasive culture of rape and abuse against women in Vegas. The number of reported rapes is almost double than the US average. The infamous “Sin City” proudly markets the gratuitous use and sale of women’s bodies that significantly contribute to the Vegas economy. In advertisements all over the city, women are a commodity made up of showgirls, strippers and prostitutes including trafficked women and children readily available for the right price. 

Lacy and Labowitz with Claudia King, art history professor at University of Las Vegas (UNLV), produced this performance project collaboratively. Modeled on Lacy’s iconic Three Weeks In May in LA, From Reverence to Rape to Respect was a 10 day extended performance that was both a public educational campaign extending over the entire city and a private study of the underlying issues of rape and sexual assault through Art Performance, Political Action and Academic Discussion.

• View the complete Schedule of Events.

• Watch the video Leslie Labowitz Discusses Activist Performance and the Media to learn more about the role the media played in the context of this and other performances.