mierle laderman ukeles maintenance artist documentary review

A new documentary titled "Maintenance Artist," directed by Toby Perl Freilich, premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival. The film chronicles the career of Mierle Laderman Ukeles, who coined the term "Maintenance Art" in a 1969 manifesto to elevate everyday domestic and civic labor into art. It follows her decades-long collaborations with New York City agencies, including her seminal "Touch Sanitation Performance" (1979–80) with the NYC Department of Sanitation, and her ongoing struggle to realize the installation "Landing: Cantilevered Overlook" (2008) at Freshkills Park. The documentary weaves together archival footage, interviews, and analysis of second-wave feminism, conceptual art, and urban bureaucracy.