Maintenance Artist' Spotlights the First Artist-in-Resident for the NYC Department of Sanitation

The episode of 'All Of It' spotlights the groundbreaking work of Merle Lederman-Ukalees, the first unpaid artist-in-residence for the New York City Department of Sanitation, through a new documentary titled *Maintenance Artist*. Directed by Toby Pearl Freilich, the film explores Lederman-Ukalees’s revolutionary concept of 'maintenance art'—a feminist, environmental, and socially conscious practice that elevates the dignity of essential workers, particularly sanitation workers. Born from a personal epiphany in the 1960s, her manifesto redefined care and labor as art, culminating in a transformative 1977 initiative where she personally thanked every one of the city’s 8,500 sanitation workers. The documentary reveals how her work bridged feminism, labor rights, and urban activism, gaining renewed relevance during the pandemic when essential workers were finally recognized. Freilich shares intimate insights into Lederman-Ukalees’s life, including her Jewish values, her complex relationship with motherhood, and her ongoing efforts to realize a public art project at Fresh Kills Landfill. The film is celebrated as a powerful testament to visibility, dignity, and the quiet heroism of everyday laborers.