The Maintenance Artist at the Neustadt JAAMM Festival

Inspired by Marcel Duchamp, Ukeles transformed everyday acts of care and maintenance, from changing diapers and collecting trash to caring for the environment, into groundbreaking works of performance art. Featuring never-before-seen archival footage, the film explores the intersection of essential work, contemporary art, and social change across the past half century. Penetrating, provocative, funny, and deeply moving, MAINTENANCE ARTIST fills a significant cultural gap while amplifying Ukeles’ enduring call for a “Maintenance Revolution.”

“After the Revolution, who’s going to pick up the garbage on Monday morning?” Ukeles famously asked. Challenging the boundaries between art and action, she became the first artist-in-residence at New York City’s Department of Sanitation in 1977, collaborating with municipal workers to bring art directly into the life of the city. This remarkable documentary tells the story of an artist whose visionary work continues to reshape how we think about labor, community, and care.