Women have shared their private journals with the world as part of a new HBO exhibition.
The Inspiration Room is showcasing raw, unedited stories all week at a 399 Lafayette Street in New York City for Women’s History Month.
The "#BecauseOfHer" exhibition, created with Wieden+Kennedy, will house the diaries in various forms, including compilation books, large-scale installations and audio recordings, as well as other forms of self-expression.
"HBO has a long history of bringing female characters to life in a way that is honest, relatable, and often unexpected," said Dana Lichtenstein, director, consumer marketing, brand and product at HBO.
"We hope that the Inspiration Room will be a place for women to tell their own authentic stories, and feel a larger sense of community around our shared experiences."
Hundreds of women all over the U.S. have contributed to this room, with diary submissions gathered via landing page HBOInspirationRoom.com, and through the help of media partners at The Wing, Bustle and theSkimm.
Some of HBO’s own talent will also be featured in the exhibit, including Lena Dunham (Girls), Issa Rae (Insecure), Amanda Crew (Silicon Valley), Michelle MacLaren (director, Game of Thrones) and Lisa Joy (co-creator/executive producer/director, Westworld).
The Inspiration Room full week schedule
Monday 3/18, 5–7pm: Power: Padma Lakshmi in Conversation with Soledad O’Brien
Author, actress, model and TV personality Padma Lakshmi will sit for a short discussion with journalist Soledad O'Brien on the topic of power: the power of women and their words, how we lose and gain it in our lives, and how it impacts everything.
Tuesday 3/19, 6–8pm: A Night on Visibility, hosted by The Wing
The Room presents an evening of storytelling on the nature of visibility, led by writer and storyteller Sofija Stefanovic, hosted by The Wing.
Wednesday 3/20, 6–9pm: A Night with Bustle
A special roundtable discussion and live performances presented by Bustle. The evening will feature a spoken word reading from Ashley August, as well as music from Sonya Kitchell.
Thursday 3/21, 6–8pm: Skimm’d from the Couch LIVE Recording
Co-founders of theSkimm, Carly Zakin and Danielle Weisberg, will record a live podcast featuring Sarah Goldberg, actress on Barry. Sarah has contributed a diary entry and a film to The Inspiration Room, and will discuss what journaling, performing and being a woman today mean to her.
Friday 3/22, 6–8pm: The Writers Workshop, Presented by Girls Write Now
Nonprofit Girls Write Now will host an evening alongside HBO writers Amy Aniobi (Insecure, 2 Dope Queens, Silicon Valley), Carly Wray (Watchmen, The Leftovers, Westworld) and Lila Byock (Watchmen, The Leftovers) to talk about bringing multidimensional women and their stories to life.
Sat. 3/23, 6–8pm: Sneak Peek of Gentleman Jack, coming to HBO in 2019
The Inspiration Room will host a sneak peek of Gentleman Jack. From Sally Wainwright and starring Suranne Jones as Anne Lister, this series tells a remarkable and unlikely love story, set in the complex, changing world of 1832 Halifax. Every part of the story is based in historical fact, recorded in the four million words of the real-life Anne Lister’s diaries, which contain the most intimate details of her life, once hidden in a secret code that is now broken.
Sunday 3/24, 4–8pm: Live Diary Readings + Gallery Night
Several of the women who have contributed content to the Room will be reading their entries aloud, starting at 4pm. The Room will be open to the public during these readings, and afterwards, until 8pm.