More than half of visual artists today are women [1], however work by women artists makes up only 3-5% of major permanent collections in the U.S. and Europe[2]. To help advance opportunity for women in the arts, LIFEWTR, a premium bottled water that fuses creativity and design to serve as a source of inspiration and hydration, today announced it is featuring bold and abstract designs from all female artists on its Series 2 bottle labels. With roughly 20 million bottle labels expected to hit store shelves over the next several months, these passionate artists will have an exceptional platform to be discovered and provide inspiration to all.

Released in a series of three, LIFEWTR labels change several times a year and each series supports a culturally relevant theme. Series 2 will focus on elevating women in the arts while Series 1 featured designs from emerging artists in the public art space. Launching on shelves now as Series 1 phases out, LIFEWTR Series 2 bottles showcase the works of bold artists who hail from the U.S. and United Kingdom.

PepsiCo introduced LIFEWTR in February 2017 as a purified water that is pH balanced with electrolytes added for taste. Released in a series of three and changing several times a year, LIFEWTR designs provide exposure for emerging artists and creatives from the worlds of graphic design, fashion, fine arts, photography and more.

"We're proud that the LIFEWTR Series 2 labels will feature designs made by some of today's most talented emerging female artists," says Todd Kaplan, Vice President, Water Portfolio, PepsiCo North America Beverages. "We admire the fact that these women are a diverse group of innovative thinkers – contributing unique and fresh forms of art to the world. They have the potential to influence culture in an impactful and positive way, and it's important we celebrate women in the arts and provide them with a platform to gain exposure and showcase an inspirational outlook."

Series 2 designs feature artwork from the following artists:

Trudy Benson: Trudy Benson is a New York-based artist known for her large-scale abstract paintings that utilize textures, shapes and bold colors. Her early style was influenced by a mix of digital technology and mid-century abstraction. Benson's works layer a range of paints and oils to create textured surfaces full of drips, scratches and globs of pigment. She also considers accidents an important part of her process. 

Lynnie Z: Lynnie Z possesses a distinctive style which melds high energy with a bold, bright color palate to create mysterious characters.  The development of these characters is the driving force of her work -- producing enigmatic, seductive creatures and powerful femme fatales. Women are mostly the subject of her pieces which she brings to life using ink, paint and paint pens.

Adrienne Gaither: Adrienne Gaither is a visual artist whose work explores identity and imagination through painting and installations. Her work attempts to challenge ideologies that perpetuate hierarchical structures. Gaither's paintings reflect her deep interest of political histories, incorporating footage from old archives and contemporary news into subversions of geometric abstractions.

To further its commitment to elevating women in the arts, LIFEWTR is announcing the following:

LIFEWTR Mentorship Program: This summer, the brand will work with series artists on a mentorship program by providing access to professional development workshops, resources, connections and ongoing support.  Follow LIFEWTR on social media for more details to be unveiled in the coming weeks.

Frieze Brooklyn Museum Fund: In its inaugural year, LIFEWTR contributed to the first official museum acquisition fund for the fair with the purchase of "Untitled 1971" by American artist Virginia Jaramillo. The fund will continue to acquire paintings from inspiring artists and showcase their works in the Brooklyn Museum as a part of their permanent collection.

The LIFEWTR Series 2 bottles are now available in the U.S. in two sizes: 700mL and 1L.

¹ National Endowment for the Arts, "Artists and Arts Workers in the United States: Findings from the American Community Survey (2005-2009) and the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (2010), 2011.
² Judy Chicago, "We Women Artists Refuse to be Written out of History," The Guardian, 2012.