Maintenance Artist follows Mierle Laderman Ukeles, the fifty-year artist in residence at the New York City Department of Sanitation. The compelling but scattered documentary is presented through the 2026 edition of The Seattle International Film Festival.
Art doesn’t stand on its own. It reflects, reforms, informs, and changes in connection with the people who make it and the public who take it. Art intersects life, not just in the stuffy, sterile galleries but in the world we live in. Cities are filled with municipal art that celebrates the people who live and work there. It’s wonderful when a city leans into it, crafting interesting set-pieces, something to talk about, to seek out, and start conversations. Local to me is a giant shovel, covered in sculpted plants at the Light Rail station, a giant plexiglass Hat & Boots that used to be a gas station decades ago, and a little further, but a favorite, a giant crow and french fries. That’s not even to mention the designs and thought of building and the art upon them: the planned murals and the spontaneous graffiti and tags.
Those worlds collide in the uneven documentary Maintenance Artist. Directed by Toby Perl Freilich, who previously directed Moynihan, and written by Freilich and editor Anne Alvergue, the film follows Mierle Laderman Ukeles as its subject. She’s big, she’s vivacious, and a fascinating personality. For fifty years, she’s been New York City’s “Maintenance Artist” (TITLE!) Her unpaid job: art projects and performance art, all tied to how the maintenance crews of New York repair sewage and the like, link with life and the world around them. The juxtaposition of the tougher blue-collar people, who often stereotypically scoff at her art in the film (reactions to a project where she took years to shake the hand of every single one are of note), drives a lot of the interest. These are worlds one doesn’t expect to meet, but as noted above, art is ever-present in all mediums.
As art does, it calls out the unseen: her thoughts of the unseen life of a housewife and the generally derogatory public perception of sanitation work are foci. Both are dismissed and derided, but fully essential (her appreciation of essential workers led to unique art shows during the height of the COVID pandemic). Her art isn’t just the sanitation works, but extends to the home, to feminism, to being big and seen as a person. Her art started in the home, turning the chore into art for all to see, removing the “hidden and homebound” to the public. Further, she enters the men-dominated world of public works, intersecting the stereotypical femininity and masculine perceptions.
There’s a lot of love within. Her art and history are presented via new interviews and retrospectives mixed with endless archival materials, tracing a whole history of intersecting lives and art. Along the way, we meet her more and her family, friends, and those in her circle. But it’s also disjointed, missing a narrative through line. True, she’s about to have a Smithsonian exhibit, but she’s blase on it, so it doesn’t catch. The one big project, such as the Secret Mall Apartment, used the project of the title to serve Michael Townsend’s career, or even bring it to a point. In that way, it’s jumbled and discounted. Sections or art could be removed or moved around with much difference. I do appreciate the timeless approach in moving around the decades, highlighting the continual work and how much never really changes under the shifting surfaces. And it’s wonderful to see how it continues today, how her spirit and drive still inspire and move the public. The transition of Staten Island’s Fresh Kills Landfill into a public park is astounding.
Maintenance Artist, from director Toby Perl Freilich, is a fascinating picture about a fascinating subject in Mierle Laderman Ukeles. Her art and the film are poignant and continually relevant, and I’m always glad to dig into whole worlds I don’t normally see. I do wish I liked it more, that it solidified more narratively to keep a stronger drive. Overall, if this strikes you, see it.
Maintenance Artist is presented as part of the 52nd Seattle International Film Festival, running from May 7th through May 17th, 2026. See https://www.siff.net/festival for more. See all SIFF coverage HERE.