Maintenance Artist

Wednesday, April 22 - Thursday, May 7, 2026

SHOWTIMES AT IFC CENTER

Please note that there are additional showtimes of MAINTENANCE ARTIST that screen with open captions (on-screen display of dialogue and sounds). For those showtimes,click here.

Q&As with director Toby Perl Freilich after the screenings Wednesday, April 22 at 7:00; Thursday, April 23 at 7:00; Sunday, April 26 at 3:15 (screening co-presented by Lilith Magazine)

“After the Revolution, who’s going to pick up the garbage?”

In 1969, artist Mierle Laderman Ukeles published a revolutionary manifesto declaring all her acts of household maintenance, including childcare, to be performance art. As she blasted her way into the era’s largely male avant-garde, Ukeles began to scale up her “maintenance revolution,” collaborating with the invisible workers who keep the city going and radically reframing public art by becoming the first artist-in-residence at NYC’s Sanitation Department. Her genius and her visionary work finally get their due in this thoughtful, eye-opening portrait.

  • Country USA
  • Running Time 95 minutes
  • Director Toby Perl Freilich
  • Cast Mierle Laderman Ukeles
  • Accessibility Assistive Listening, T-Coil, Closed Captioning

IFC Center does not generally provide advisories about subject matter or potentially triggering content in films, as sensitivities vary from person to person. In addition to the synopses, trailers and other links on our website, further information about content and age-appropriateness for specific films can be found on Common Sense Media, IMDb and DoesTheDogDie.com as well as through general internet searches.