Allyn, Jerri, 1952-

Variant names

Dates:

Birth 1952-02-21

Gender:

Female

Nationality: Americans,

Language: English,

Biographical notes:

Jerri Allyn is an American feminist performance, installation artist and educator based in Los Angeles, California. Allyn earned an M.A. in Art and Community from Goddard College in 1978 and also attended The Feminist Studio Workshop at the Los Angeles Woman's Building from 1978-1978.

Allyn was active in the feminist art movement, co-founding multiple feminist performance groups in the 1970s and 1980s. The first of these was "The Waitresses," co-founded with Anne Gauldin in 1977. All of the members of the group were waitresses, and through their often comedic performances, they explored the cultural perception of women as nurturers as well as what labor conditions were like for women in the service industry. The group performed in restaurants and other public spaces and on one occasion formed The All-City Waitress Marching Band to perform in a parade. Along with Nancy Angelo, Anne Gauldin, Cheri Gaulke and Sue Maberry, Allyn was a founding member of Sisters of Survival (SOS), an anti-nuclear weapons group that sought to bring artists, activists, and citizens together.

Allyn also creates interactive installations that transcend the boundary between art and life and that are integrated into public spaces. She works with whatever medium seems best suited to the situation and the environment and has worked in media as diverse as billboards, artists books, and audio formats.

Allyn has previously worked as Director of Education and Public Programs at the Bronx Museum of the Arts, Founding Director of ACT: Artists, Community and Teaching at Otis College of Art and Design, and was the Director of Programs at Venice Arts in Venice, California. She is currently employed by the Center for the Study of Political Graphics.