Funda Demirel is an award-winning artist, educator, and activist who is training women and girls in traditional Turkish art forms. Her goals are to help them heal from the pain of domestic violence and gain economic independence by teaching them to preserve Turkey’s rich handicraft traditions.
The members of SWAN Day Kenya’s “Make It Happen” team have outdone themselves this year with a free all-day festival this Saturday, April 1 from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Mathare Youth Sports Association headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya. Their 16th Annual SWAN event will feature over 100 singers, spoken word artists, dancers, crafts people, and more.
On Saturday, March 25, 2023 at 2 p.m. the Women in the Arts and Media Coalition will present a free screening of 3 short films written and directed by women. Following the screenings, Terry Lawler, the former Executive Director of NYWIFT, will lead a panel discussion with the directors Estelle Parsons and Annetta Marion in person and Dana Offenbach online.
The Parent Artist Advocacy League (PAAL) has just launched a multi-year survey about the challenges facing people in the performing arts and media who have children, dependent parents, or other care-giving responsibilities. Since there is not much research on this topic, please take the survey if you can.
In response to the economic devastation of their local arts community during the pandemic, the Svane Family Foundation has commissioned a diverse group of 100 San Francisco Bay Area artists for $10,000 each for a unique arts exhibition/auction. WomenArts thanks them for this bold and welcome investment.
When Cerise Lim Jacobs, Executive Producer of White Snake Projects, read about the murder of George Floyd, she wanted to do more than make a statement of solidarity. She wanted to use the full power of her art to explore systemic racism. One year later, White Snake’s virtual opera about racism and prisons is opening.
Women composers are creating amazing, cutting-edge work these days, and one of the best places to learn about them is Composers Now. Composers Now was founded by Tania León, a powerhouse conductor and composer, whose works are performed around the world. Born in Havana, León is a champion of women composers and composers of color.
SWAN Day Connecticut, an annual music festival organized by Super SWAN Jennifer Hill, will take place on Saturday, April 17 at 3 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. EST. The free show will be streamed live on the SWAN Day CT Facebook page. Jennifer Hill has built a wonderful community of women artists who have come together through her 14 years of SWAN events.
“Hollywood: Her Story, An Illustrated History of Women and the Movies” sets out to document that women have been in the film business since the flickering early days of its existence. The lavishly illustrated book provides information on approximately 1200 women in film, starting with Alice Guy-Blaché in 1896.
Indigenous girls in the innovative Daughters of Tradition program at Milwaukee’s HIR Wellness Institute celebrated their third SWAN Day this year by partnering with visual artist Valaria Tatera, a member of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. Tatera’s work often explores self- identity and other Indigenous issues.
Today is Support Women Artists Now Day/SWAN Day 2021. In this tumultuous year, WomenArts President Martha Richards reflects on the power of women artists to create positive change. She is hopeful because she believes that women artists have the imagination to help the world recover.
Support Women Artists Now Day/SWAN Day is officially this Saturday, March 27, 2021. Learn about the online celebrations over the weekend from SWAN Day NY, the Ladies Quintessential Quintet, and SWAN Day Kenya, and an in-person event in Joshua Tree, CA – plus SWAN Day CT’s online event next month.
Looking for some feminist fiction for SWAN Day? WomenArts has two recommendations – Sally Bellerose’s “Fishwives” and Judith Arcana’s “Hello, This is Jane.” Bellerose’s book is about feisty older lesbians. Arcana’s stories show what life was like for women before the Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade.
Recent research has shown that only five of New York City’s 150 statues of historic figures depict women, and many other cities are just as bad. WomenArts reports on three arts initiatives that address these sad statistics – She Built NYC, New Shokan Kitchen Island, and Boston Women’s History Heritage Trail.
Look What SHE Did! seeks to inspire women and girls by creating short films about remarkable women who have changed the world. In honor of Women’s History Month, they will be featuring stories of female resilience starting with a new film about labor leader Dolores Huerta,