Incendiaries: The People's Flag Show 1970
September 9, 2026–January 16, 2027
Opening Reception September 9 6–8PM
80WSE
80WSE presents Incendiaries: The People's Flag Show 1970, examining the landmark exhibition at Judson Memorial Church and the networks of artists, activists, and communities that shaped it into a defining moment in American art and cultural protest.
Organized in collaboration with NYU's Fales Library & Special Collections and in cooperation with Judson Memorial Church, Incendiaries draws on rare photographs, video documentation, and archival materials from the Judson Memorial Church Archive to trace a formative chapter in the intertwined histories of art, activism, and public dissent. A centerpiece of the exhibition is archival video of choreographer Yvonne Rainer's Trio A With Flags (1970), a pivotal adaptation of her signature dance performed with members of the Grand Union and other dancers at the opening of the exhibition.
As a nexus of social activism and experimental culture in Greenwich Village and a vital hub for New York's downtown avant-garde, Judson Memorial Church actively supported the artists and collectives behind The People's Flag Show. Presented in November 1970 amid opposition to the Vietnam War and the broader movements for civil rights, feminism, and artistic freedom, the exhibition brought together more than 150 artists who used the American flag as image, object, and material to confront questions of political expression and artistic agency.
During the exhibition, Faith Ringgold, Jon Hendricks, and Jean Toche (later known as the “Judson Three”) were arrested under New York's flag desecration law in connection with The People's Flag Show. Their prosecution reflected broader national debates over artistic freedom and the constitutionality of such laws.
Incendiaries considers how artists and activists organized in response to war, censorship, and social change, revealing how collective action intersected with political dissent and artistic practice in times of profound upheaval.
Curated by Howie Chen with Jon Huron
