Cogs & Marvel Leads Design for Gender Equality Installation That Lady Thing

08/03/2019

Lore

Marketing & PR

San Francisco, USA

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08/03/2019

Art activation returns to San Francisco on International Women’s Day at The Phoenix Hotel

Following last July’s successful debut, experiential art installation That Lady Thing returns on March 8 – 10 in celebration of International Women’s Day. Featuring new exhibits by experiential agency Cogs & Marvel and their creative director Jamie Shaw, That Lady Thing: Rising Like a Phoenix will be held at The Phoenix Hotel, presented in partnership with Chambers eat + drink.

Filled with interactive experiences, performances, and Instagram-ready installations, That Lady Thing takes a decidedly fun and tongue-in-cheek approach to bringing awareness to gender equality issues. This year’s event has expanded, featuring Raisa Yavneh, Hope Meng, Danna G. Windsor, SHAMEBOOTH and others, and offering over a dozen unique experiences including:

- The Lady Tarot: A life-sized tarot card-themed photo opp with new feminist archetypes

- Raise Her Up: the power seesaw selfie

- Smells Like Toxic Masculinity: a custom scratch & sniff wallpaper

And classics like:

- The Sea of Objectification: last session’s popular breast-themed ball pit

- The Wage Gap Money Grab: a socially conscious twist on a money-grabbing game show classic

Shaw stresses that she sees That Lady Thing as the beginning of something bigger – an evolving creative platform to address inequality by offering experiences instead of just a standard conference format. “This idea was created to bring attention to these issues, but with this activation, you’ll see us continuing to add more content and collaborators - performers, activists, female founders,” she explains. “We’re looking to set the stage and turn this into a larger content platform that can grow and showcase work from women artists, bringing together voices from around the nation.”

In expanding this platform, That Lady Thing joined forces with Cogs & Marvel where Shaw currently serves as creative director. With a focus on live events and brand activations, the female-founded agency proved to be the perfect partner to create an installation with its sights set on social change.

(Credit: That Lady Thing)

“Cogs & Marvel is committed to the idea of creating experiences that are transformative,” says Cogs & Marvel’s US CEO Roisin Callaghan. “People who attend our events should feel changed in some way – it’s our mission to never create an experience that just checks boxes without thinking through the human engagement and how it will move each visitor. That's what excited us about getting involved with That Lady Thing – the potential to apply those values to something so important and meaningful to our team.”

The installation also seeks to shine a light on the Phoenix Hotel as a San Francisco institution powered by women. The hotel’s ownership and management team, Bunkhouse Group, is principally women, under the leadership of celebrated hotelier, Liz Lambert. From Phoenix Hotel partner Isabel Manchester and GM D. Weech to the Chambers eat + drink management team led by Megan Bundy, the property has long been associated as a rock ‘n’ roll landmark, welcoming scores of travelling bands on the road, and hosting epic daytime parties for community events like Pride and its beloved Summer Series.

A portion of ticket and merchandise sales will be donated to women’s organisations including the National Women’s Law Center.