Female frontline workers are getting larger-than-life recognition thanks to the work of an Austin artist.
Inspired by the stories of women working on the frontlines during the coronavirus pandemic, local artist Sarah Wilson decided to turn her front porch into a makeshift home studio. She then called out to the public on her social media pages, asking for nominations of female frontline workers she should photograph.
Of the hundreds of submissions, she selected 15 to photograph. You can see all of the nominees for the project on Wilson’s Instagram.
She submitted her project to the Dougherty Arts Center in 2020 and was later able to launch her project, titled “Essentials: Portraits of Austin’s Essential Women Workers," according to Austin Monthly.
She couldn’t host an indoor show, so she decided to plaster the photos around Austin. They are now taking the shape of the massive, nearly 20-foot-tall portraits. There are currently eight portraits at three locations: 1106 Lavaca St., 1601 Guadalupe St. and 516 Navasota St.
You can check out an interactive map to see where the portraits are popping up.