Pictures and Statistics from Beyond Barbie - a huge success!

Beyond Barbie: Piecing Together Today's Woman ended in early November with "Life in the First Person", a series of readings by seven different writers.  It, like all the other performances, was stellar.  I have been blown away by the deep sharing that took place during each evening.  The topics were completely varied: Birth, Body Modification, Dance, Spoken Word, Eating Disorders, the Blues, and Intimate Partner Abuse and each was fascinating, rich, fun, poignant, spirit-filled, empowering, interesting, etc., etc., etc.!

Khalima and Dawn Flores after Khalima's performance of Longing at Unity, one of the connections made through Beyond Barbie

Linda Goodman, Lisette Johnson, Megan Hicks, and Susan Singer at Through the Fire

I spent some time trying to figure out what they had in common - what I came up with was the authenticity of the performers.  They all presented their material from the heart, sharing what was true for them openly, without artifice, and the audience members held the space safely, recognizing the sacredness of that deep sharing.  We covered topics which weren't comfortable to be with like the death of a baby, being shot by ones husband, female circumcision, for example, yet we were able to be with the discomfort and feel compassion for the tellers because we could see their humanity.  No Hollywood manipulation was necessary.  No Jerry-Springer-like over-the-top histrionics.  The Truth was sufficient.  It was "Reality TV" at its best.  My heart was flooded with compassion and empathy with each story.

Yet the stories weren't all sad either.  One woman shared about being photographed by Playboy when she was a teen.  Another shared a beautiful birth story.  We watched dances that expressed great joy and spirituality, and we listened to Gaye Adegbalola sing the Blues full of empowerment and heartfelt goodness.  The range was extensive, just like in real life, condensed into seven evenings of community.
I gathered some numbers from the series which might be interesting to you:

302 - VERY approximate number of different people who attended one or more of the performances.
500 - approximate total number of attendees over the course of seven weeks
$4880 - amount of money brought in through sales of tickets for Beyond Barbie
$413 - amount donated to charity - Eating Disorder Coalition
27 - number of artists paid by BB for performing
100+/- - greatest # of people at one night - Life in the First Person
197 (and growing) - number of FB fans of BB
15 - # of people who've expressed an interest in keeping BB going
1000's - number of new connections and friends made through BB!
5 - the number of articles written about Not Barbie or Beyond Barbie (RVAMag, Richmond.com, Style Weekly, Richmond Times-Dispatch, and Richmond Magazine

Sheila Gray, performer at Life in the First Person

“Beyond Barbie – Caught in a Fun House Mirror”, by Matt Wetsel, http://rvamag.com/articles/full/12902/beyond-barbie-caught-in-a-fun-house-mirror, Nov 2

“Exhibit Reveals More Than Just Skin”, by Alix Bryan, Richmond.com, http://www2.richmond.com/entertainment/2011/sep/21/exhibit-reveals-more-just-skin-ar-1324017/, Sept 21

“Naked Truth: Susan Singer’s ‘Not Barbie’ lets it all hang out at Crossroads Art Center”, Style Weekly, http://www.styleweekly.com/richmond/naked-truth/Content?oid=1611275, Sept 13

“REAL WOMEN: Exhibit Focuses on Beauty and Body Image”, Richmond Times Dispatch, http://www2.timesdispatch.com/entertainment/flair/2011/sep/11/tdflair01-real-women-ar-1292440/, Sept 12

“Body Work”, Richmond Magazine, by Anne Dryfuss, http://www.richmondmagazine.com/?articleID=fbd27566dda996c75c42c531912d579c, Sept

Linda Goodman and Denise Bennett at Through the Fire

By all accounts, the shows were a fabulous success, and I'm deeply grateful to each and every person who participated either by performing or attending or buying ads for the program or providing us with space (thanks, Jenni Kirby and everybody else at Crossroads!) or by supporting those of us who did all those things.  I truly believe that this series helped shift the paradigm of how we see women.  We have come to recognize the strength in being real, honest, authentic and vulnerable.  Ironically, it is not a place of weakness - it is a place of strength and empowerment.

May we each go onward from this day forward to be our authentic selves, Beyond Barbie!

The last month has been busy! 2 new pieces, 2 national shows, and BB revival!

Sorry for my long absence!  It's been a very, very busy month since Beyond Barbie finished.  I am still planning to write a post about the series and how it went for all those of you who might be wondering.  In the meantime, just a teaser...  we're working on putting together a "Best of Beyond Barbie" to run for a weekend in March in Richmond.  It will have 8-10 pieces in it, a compilation of topics from all the evenings, but most of the pieces will probably be different than what you saw at Crossroads.  We're in the initial planning stages.  Of course I'll let you know as soon as anything is certain!

Other than beginning to plan The Best of..., I've been painting, planning two shows, and working on getting other shows outside of Richmond.  I'll give you more details on all that as they are solidified as well.

Some great news - I had a piece, Waiting, accepted into Shades of Pastel, a national pastel show sponsored by the Maryland Pastel Society.  The very, very exciting news about that was that the piece got a prize for Best Portrait.  THAT was exciting!  The prizes were a gift certificate to one store and a 78-piece set of Great American Artworks Pastels - I just received them the other day and am looking forward to trying them out - they're a brand I haven't used before.  Can't wait to see what they're like.

Some other wonderful news - I got another piece, Susie Kissing Sally, accepted into a different national show, Au Naturel, at Clatsop Community College in Astoria, OR.  It's my first West Coast show, so it's particularly exciting!  I wish I could go out for the opening in February, but it's a bit far for that!  I've applied for a solo show there in Oct.  If I get that, I'll definitely go out then.  Astoria is supposed to be a wonderful town with lots of art, so it sounds like great fun.

So stuff is happening like crazy art-wise.  Not Barbie was a great success.  Beyond Barbie, the performance series, was fantastic - I'm blown away by the talented women living here in Richmond who performed in it.  Almost every day someone tells me how much the series meant to them and how much it affected their lives.  It doesn't get any better than that as far as I'm concerned!

In addition to all that, I've also been managing to get a little bit of painting done.  The two most recent pieces are "Present to You" and "Dancing with Hotei."

"Dancing with Hotei" is the first once.  My model was sitting on the floor and "danced" with the wonderful statue I have of Hotei.  Hotei is described on Wikipedia as follows:

  Hotei is traditionally depicted as a fat bald man wearing a robe^[3][4] and wearing or otherwise carrying prayer beads. He carries his few possessions in a cloth sack,^[3] being poor but content. He is often depicted entertaining or being followed by adoring children. His figure appears throughout Chinese culture as a representation of contentment.^[3] His image graces many temples, restaurants, amulets, and businesses.^[1]

The picture here shows him from the back.  My model saw my statue when she came into the studio and commented that she liked him, so when I was photographing her I asked if she'd like to have him in the shots.  She immediately said yes then moved into a meditative dance with him.  I feel like she's reaching the sublime in this image.  The necklace she's wearing is one her friends put together for her at the Blessing Way before her son was born.  Each bead was from a different person then someone created the entire necklace.  I believe the model wore it when she gave birth.

The second picture is called "Present to You".  I thought about calling it "Behind the Curtain", but I didn't want to give the indication that the model might be hiding - not at all!  She was exceedingly comfortable in her body and modeling for me, very open and at ease, so "Present to You" feels like a more accurate description of the image.  I have many beautiful images of her, but I liked this one for the expression on her face and the strength in her hand.  I find everything about her completely authentic and present, no pretense, no hiding, no pretending.  She is who she is. 

It's fascinating to me to paint these women, each of whom is so very different and whose images come out so very differently.  I love how much of a sense of the person you can get from each painting when I've done them well.  My models are such a gift to me.  And to everyone who sees the pictures!  Thank you, models!

Article by Matt Wetsel in RVAMag

Matt Wetsel, a friend from Beyond Barbie's night on Eating Disorders, has written a stellar article about that evening and about eating disorders in general for RVAMag.  If you weren't able to make it, this is a great way to get a sense of the evening.  Thanks, Matt, for such a great article, and thanks, RVAMag, for publishing it and addressing this vital topic.

http://rvamag.com/articles/full/12902/beyond-barbie-caught-in-a-fun-house-mirror

Shameless Survivor

I just realized I never posted the finished version of Shameless Survivor so here it is now.  This woman was part of Beyond Barbie's night called Through the Fire, a presentation on intimate partner abuse.  Lisette, the woman pictured here, was shot by her husband who then killed himself.  She read three entries from her blog, http://www.shamelesssurvivors.com/.  They were so powerful, they left me speechless and have resonated with me all week since then.  The one I found most moving answered the question so many people ask her, "If your husband was so abusive, why didn't you leave?"  She read a list of reasons she didn't such as feeling so bad about herself (because she believed what he said) that she had no ability to leave.  It was tough, powerful stuff to listen to. 

If you or someone you know is in a relationship that may be abusive, please know that Lisette's blog can be a resource to you, and there is much other help available, for example, Domestic Violence Hotline 1-800-799-SAFE or YWCA.

May this painting help encourage others to seek the help they need and to know that they deserve to be treated like the wonderful people they are.

Life in the First Person: women's Stories Uncovered

Life in the First Person: Women’s Stories Uncovered

 

A novelist. A storyteller. A poet. A freelance writer. A performance artist. A creative nonfiction writer. A blogger.

What do they all have in common?

The first person.

Their experiences and their points of view are different, but their pronouns are the same.

Find out what comes after “I.”

Come out to hear life in the first person with Gigi Amateau, novelist; Denise Bennett, storyteller; Tarfia Faizullah, poet; Julie Geen, freelance writer; Shelia Gray, performance artist; Valley Haggard, creative nonfiction writer and Alex Iwashyna, blogger.

Life in the First Person: Women’s Stories Uncovered will serve as the grand finale in the event series, Beyond Barbie: Piecing Together Today's Woman running in conjunction with Susan Singer’s art opening, “Not Barbie: A Celebration of Real Women,”  on Thursday, November 3, at 7 PM at Crossroads Art Center. Tickets can be purchased online at www.SusanSinger.com or through  Crossroads Art Center or at the door.   

Featuring:

Gigi Amateau is the author of the young adult novel, A Certain Strain of Peculiar, a 2010 Bank Street College Best Children’s Books of the Year. She also wrote Chancey of the Maury River, a William Allen White Masters List title for grades 3-5. Her debut novel, Claiming Georgia Tate was selected as a New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age.  She recently completed 200-hour yoga teacher training. Visit www.gigiamateau.com.

Denise Bennett tells personal stories, her original versions of traditional stories and sacred stories often interlaced with harp and vocal music.  She is a member of the Tell Tale Hearts Storytellers Theater in Richmond. Master storyteller Elizabeth Ellis has said of her, “Denise Bennett is a storyteller and a musician of exceptional talent. Her work is timeless, and flawless. Her work reminds us of the love that dwells in the deep heart's core.” Visit her at www.storiesbydenise.com.

Tarfia Faizullah is a graduate of VCU's creative writing program, and the former associate editor of Blackbird: an online journal of literature and the arts. Her poems have appeared or are forthcoming in The Southern Review, Crab Orchard Review, Ploughshares, Poetry Daily, Diode, Bellingham Review and elsewhere. She is the recipient of an AWP Intro Journals Project award, the Ploughshares Cohen Award and a Fulbright scholarship.

Julie Geen writes a monthly column for belle magazine and is a contributor to Style Weekly. She has published essays in anthologies, most recently “Tarnished: True Tales of Innocence Lost.” Along with raising children, dealing with pets and her own mind, she teaches creative writing classes through Hanover Parks and Recreation. Currently, she is turning one of her screenplays into a novel, and from there probably into a face book post. She blogs at juliegeen.com.
 

Shelia Gray is a graduate of the VCU Crafts Department, focusing in metal smithing, textiles and glass. She is currently involved in creating wearable art and costumes, as well as performance art and body painting for fashion shows, events and special projects. She’s writing a mixed-media graphic novel which incorporates sculptures and performance pieces. A self-employed gardener, she has winters off to do what ever she likes. 

Valley Haggard, the executive director of Richmond Young Writers, teaches creative writing to kids at Chop Suey Books and creative nonfiction to adults at Chop Suey, Black Swan Bookstore and the Visual Arts Center. On the board of the James River Writers, she has written for Style Weekly, Belle, Rhome, V Magazine and Skirt and has published chapters of her memoir in The Writer’s Dojo and Tarnished: True Tales of Innocence Lost. Visit her at www.richmondyoungwriters.com or www.valleyhaggard.com.

Alex Iwashyna went from a B.A. in Philosophy to an M.D. to a SAHM (stay at home mom), writer and poet before thirty. She spends most of her time on LateEnough.com blogging about life, parenting, marriage, culture and her inability to wake up in the morning and not hate everyone. She also writes for Richmondmom.com, teaches at the Visual Arts Center and manages enough freelance work to guarantee sexy circles under her eyes.

Breaking the Funhouse Mirror: The Distorted Reflections of Eating Disorders

Breaking the Funhouse Mirror: 5th in a series of evening performances around women’s

issues focuses on eating disorders—causes, effects and healing

Can eating disorders be prevented? Can they be healed? How do you live with their effects?

On October 20, an educator and a therapist, along with a local writer and a massage therapist,

bring their experience and expertise to explore those questions and how eating disorders stem

from distorted self-perceptions. The event, Caught in a Funhouse Mirror: The Distorted

Reflections of Eating Disorders, is one of a series of seven evening performances in conjunction with Susan Singer’s exhibition of female nudes, Not Barbie: A Celebration of Real Women, which opens Friday, Sept 16th, at 6 PM at Crossroads Art Center.

The funhouse mirror can be broken. Hear from women who are intimately acquainted with the mirror, its effects and the healing journey toward the authentic self. Kathleen MacDonald believes that eating disorders, chronic dieting and body dislike are preventable epidemics and that educating people about them is integral to the fight to eliminate them. As the education and prevention coordinator for the Gail R. Schoenbach F.R.E.E.D. Foundation, this nationally known expert in eating and body image issues has presented at universities, schools, conferences and many other venues.

Psychotherapist and activist Rachael Stern’s clinical experience encompasses eating disorders (all types), trauma and somatic psychotherapy, couples therapy, self-injury and LGBTQ issues, with a particular interest in activism and social change. Based in Baltimore, where she has recently joined the Pershing Turner Centers, she is the executive director of the Eating Disorder Activist Network and is a registered yoga teacher.

Karen Morris specializes in body contact therapy to counter low self-esteem, body image and/or eating disorder issues, as well as body/touch issues such as those from sexual assault. A board certified massage therapist, Morris brings bodywork and massage to counter issues stemming from eating disorders. Recovered herself from a 30 year battle with anorexia and bulimia she is a member of The Eating Disorder Coalition Junior Board and is an eating disorder Activist.

Local writer and editor Christine Ennulat is not an expert in eating disorders, nor has she suffered from one—directly. She shares her own experience of and continuing healing from an eating disorder in her world.

Beyond Barbie: Piecing Together Today’s Woman runs weekly at Crossroads Art Center from

September 22 - November 3. Caught in a Funhouse Mirror: The Distorted Reflections of

Eating Disorders takes place Oct. 20 at 7 p.m. at Crossroads Art Center, 2016 Staples Mill Rd,

RVA 23230. Tickets may be purchased online at www.SusanSinger.com. For more information please go www.susansinger.com or call Crossroads at 804-278-8950.

Contact: Karen Morris, akarentouch@yahoo.com  www.akarentouch.info

Beyond Barbie - You can finally buy tickets for the evenings! Here!

The last few weeks have been extremely busy as I and a handful of women have worked to prepare for Beyond Barbie.  Beginning Sept 22 and continuing every Thursday night until November 3, at Crossroads Art Center, we will be presenting a series of performances intended to showcase some fabulous women!  The series is intended for men and women and youth and most evenings will be family friendly (I would urge some discretion when deciding whether to bring your children to the evening about abuse and perhaps those on Eating Disorders and birth?).

When I realized that many of my models are performers/artists/talented women, I decided it would be a fabulous idea to give them an opportunity to strut their stuff in conjunction with my show Not Barbie: A Celebration of Real Women which opens Friday, Sept 16th at 6 PM also at Crossroads Art Center.  The topics for the evenings arose organically based on issues my models are dealing with and/or the type of performers they are.

The first became clear when I realized I've photographed and painted many dancers - that makes sense!  They're so at ease in their bodies that they are comfortable in front of the camera.  On Sept 22, we'll have belly dancers (Khalima, Heather Addley, Lelya Nissa, and Tina Batya), Hoopers (yes, hula hoopers!  Hula hoops have made a dramatic come back and have become performance art!) (Rachel Braford and Natalie Gianninoto).   Peggy O'Neill will lead all willing participants in Sacred Circle Dance, and Frances Wessells (see video) will lead us in improvisational exercises based on her 70+ years of teaching!  Dawn Flores will round out the evening with Goddess Dance.  The evening promises to be intriguing, beautiful, sensual, fascinating, and full of surprises!


Sept 29 will be a most unusual evening - did you know that Richmond is the third most tattooed city in the USA?  Well, on the 29th you'll get to learn a lot more about that.  Rachel Easter of OneTribe (a company which specializes in making jewelry for piercings) and Kim Sikorsky, a certified piercer, will screen a documentary they're working on about body modification.  Afterwards they will field questions about tattoos, piercings, and other body modification.

Oct 6 we'll have the extraordinary pleasure of hearing two fine singers.  Ana Poland-Rivera will open the evening with a couple of songs, then Gaye Adegbalola (formerly of Saffire-The Uppity Blues Women) will sing and speak about The Blues and the empowerment to be found in music.  Her music is raucous, funny, energetic, and, most of all, true.  You can watch her sing "Big Ovaries, Baby" in the accompanying video to get a sense of what you have to look forward to!


Not everything women experience is empowering at first glance.  This is certainly true of abuse.  Oct 13, several women will tell tales of their own or their relative's abuse and how they have come to terms with it and overcome it.  (Lisette Johnson, Megan Hicks, and Linda Goodman.) We will have a panel of experts to answer questions after the sharing.  The evening's stories will be moving, tragic, and ultimately leave you feeling empowered and amazed at the strength of the human spirit.


Oct 20 there will be two national experts and several local women (Christine Ennulat, Karen Morris, and Kathleen MacDonald, among others) who will speak about their experiences with Eating Disorders and disordered eating.  Well aware of the latest research about eating disorders, these women will inform, inspire, and engage you as they share from the heart.


We all begin our lives by being born, but how we are born varies greatly - vaginal births, caesarean births, home births, hospital births, taxicab deliveries, etc., etc.  Oct 27th we'll have the opportunity to hear five stories of different kinds of births then we'll each have the opportunity to tell a story of our own in a small group about a birth we've experienced.  Deep sharing accompanied by respectful listening promises to make this evening warm and wonderful.


Our final offering on Nov 3 will be a series of written word offerings, read by their authors - a story, a dramatic reading,  a poem or two, a blog entry, an essay, perhaps more - by some of Richmond's well-known and emerging talents (Gigi Amateau, novelist; Denise Bennett, storyteller; Tarfia Faizullah, poet; Julie Geen, freelance writer; Shelia Gray, performance artist; Valley Haggard, creative nonfiction writer and Alexandra Iwashyna, blogger.).  All of the offerings will be true tales of personal experiences, keeping with Beyond Barbie's theme of empowerment through personal sharing.


Interest is already high, and seating will be limited to 250, so if you're interested in coming, it would be wise to purchase your ticket ahead of time.  You may purchase them below.  We're very excited to have you with us!

Online event registration for Beyond Barbie:
Piecing Together Today's Woman powered by Eventbrite

The Blues Woman

A week ago I began a new painting which I'm calling (so far) The Blues Woman.  It's a painting of Gaye Adegbalola, an extraordinary blues singer who was with Saffire - The Uppity Blues Woman until they disbanded after 20+ years last year.  She is an amazing performer and a very, very cool woman!  She has an attitude that I want!  She'll be performing Thursday, October 6th at Crossroads Art Center as part of Beyond Barbie.  In the meantime, I'm working on a portrait of her to include in my show, Not Barbie, opening at Crossroads Sept 16th.

Sometimes when I paint a canvas, I'll cover the whole thing in one sitting with a fairly vague layer of paint just to build up the paint and to start to give me a feel for the piece.  Other times I'll work it one little bit at a time.  The Blues Woman is done in the latter style.  The piece is quite complex because of the chair, her tattoos, her gorgeous face, and the parts of her body sticking out from between the rungs of the chair.  There are also two hands and two feet, and each of those takes almost as much time to paint as the face does!  So this one is quite a lot of work.  And such a pleasure!  I love the feeling of hanging out with my models as I paint them.  It's fun thinking about conversations we had while I was photographing them or about stories they told me.  It's like having a friend in the studio with me all day long.

Here is the progression of this piece so far:

 Sometimes when I'm working on a piece, it feels just right.  Everything is working, and the image has a power of its own.  This piece is like that for me.  I'm excited each day to get into the studio to see what will evolve that day.  I think about it during the evening and sometimes even dream about it at night.  Gaye's piece feels particularly good to me.  I can't wait to get back to it tomorrow!  I'm hoping to finish her torso and perhaps get a leg done.  She has wonderful tattoos which are going to challenge me once I get to them - it's tricky re-creating someone else's artwork, especially as it winds its way around a body, but tattoos are so special to their wearers, it would be disrespectful not to include them.

I'll post more images as I finish more!

Not Barbie: A Celebration of Real Women, and Beyond Barbie: Piecing Together Today's Woman

My goodness, but it has been difficult for me to get to the computer for writing a blog post lately!  I'm exceedingly busy preparing for my upcoming show, Not Barbie: A Celebration of Real Women, and even busier, if that's possible, getting ready for Beyond Barbie: Piecing Together Today's Woman, a performance series to be held on Thursday evenings in conjunction with and at the same venue as Not Barbie.   When I realized that most of my models are artists and/or performers in their own right, I decided it would be very cool to put together a series of performances to showcase their talents.  Eight topics rose to the top based on issues my models work with or the type of work they do.  We eliminated one when we couldn't find anyone to speak about it.  Ironically, that topic was balance!  Most of us struggle to achieve balance in our lives - too busy living them!  So we dropped that one.

Like my exhibition, the series will be held at Crossroads Art Center here in Richmond, VA.  The Opening for Not Barbie is Friday, September 16th at 6:00.  I'll be giving an artist's talk beforehand at 5:30 for anyone interested in hearing me talk about my art, my process, my models, etc. 

The show will consist of 50+ pastel drawings and oil paintings of female nudes - the very ones I've shown here on the blog the last couple of years.  It's the largest show I've put on to date.  In addition to the nudes, I'll also have several interactive exhibits which are intended to help the viewer explore his/her feelings about his/her own body and/or notice prejudices and feelings he/she may have about others'.  It promises to be a very interesting night!

The performance series, Beyond Barbie, will begin the Thursday after my opening, Sept 22 at 7 PM.  Tickets($10 for one performance, $50 for all seven) can be purchased at the door or in advance through Crossroads Art Center.  Below is a list of what each evening has to offer.  It would be lovely to see you there!

Thursday, September 22nd

Strength in Motion: To Speak without Words is an inspired evening of dance performance and discussion.  Joining us will be leaders in different styles of dance including Frances Wessels of Virginia Commonwealth University, Peggy O'Neill, Dawn Flores, and Khalima of Illumination Dance Studio. From bellydance to hoop dance, we will explore the ways women have moved across the ages to present times, and how dance can serve not only as a performance art, but as a healing, spiritual, and strengthening modality.  

Thursday, September 29th

Body of work: Finding Inspiration in a Canvas of Flesh is an event designed to take a serious look at the world of women and body modification, and the many ways that women intentionally modify the bodies that they are in, through body art, adornment, and other methods. We will be discussing personal growth and expression versus self harm. We will be joined by Rachel Easter of Onetribe, professional body piercer Kim Sikorsky, and others who will share their experiences with body modification.

Thursday, October 6th, 2011

The Blues: Liberation, Empowerment, and Joy! is an evening celebrating the life-changing power of music. Opening the evening with song will be Ana Rivera-Poland followed by a headlining performance from Gaye Adegbalola, singer, composer, storyteller and activist.  By maintaining the blues legacy, Gaye sees herself as a contemporary griot - keeping the history alive, delivering messages of empowerment, ministering to the heartbroken, and finding joy in the mundane.

Thursday, October 13, 2011 

Through the Fire: Reclaiming Lost Power After Trauma & Abuse.

When one woman on the planet is beaten, raped or otherwise abused, we all suffer.  Our compassion for each other breaks all barriers of class and ethnic separation.  That is why these stories are difficult to hear; but for healing to occur, they need to be spoken.  In a safe and sacred space award-winning storytellers, Linda Goodman and Megan Hicks, lead a cast of artists in opening a window into a world where few of us would go willingly.  Through the transformative power of art, these women show us how to process, rise above and glean wisdom from life's most unwanted and painful lessons.  The evening's performance will be followed by a question and answer period with the artists, who will be joined by experts from the community in offering resources, information and advice.

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Caught in a Funhouse Mirror: the Distorted Reflections of Eating Disorders.

Kathleen McDonald, a nationally-known speaker and Capitol Hill lobbyist on behalf of people with eating disorders will be the expert speaking that night.  She will give an informative, gripping, and thoroughly personal account of her own struggle with eating disorders.  She will also provide listeners with hope, local and national resources, and practical advice. In addition to Ms. McDonald's talk, there will also be a panel of local experts and survivors to address other questions audience members may have.  Whether you, a friend, or family member has been personally affected or you simply want to hear women talk about their lives in a way that is true and real, this will be a moving performance to attend. 

Thursday, October 27th

Listening and Observing: Women Tell Their Birth Stories  Childbirth may be one of the most powerful events that women experience in life. The sharing of women's personal experiences of giving birth provides an opportunity for greater understanding about how birth shapes and is shaped by our self-perceptions, our culture, and the trajectory of our lives. This evening will provide a safe space to experience the art of listening as we share our personal stories of birth in a way that honors the unique experience of each storyteller.

Thursday, November 3 

Life in the First Person: Women's Stories Uncovered will serve as the grand finale in the event series, Beyond Barbie. Seven reknown Richmond writers will join forces to create a night of mixed-genre storytelling, reading and performance art via poetry and prose. Come out to hear Life in the First Person with Gigi Amateau, novelist; Denise Bennett, storyteller; Tarfia Faizullah, poet; Julie Geen, freelance writer; Shelia Gray, performance artist; Valley Haggard, creative nonfiction writer and Alexandra Nelson Iwashyna, blogger.

 

Donate Profits or Pay the Artists?

Yesterday I wrote about the down side of charity auctions and being an artist.  Today I'll address an issue which has come up as I've been working on the performance series, Beyond Barbie.

In doing the work to plan the series, I've been interested to find that people sometimes ask me which non-profit we'll be giving our proceeds to.   When I tell them that the profits will be divided among the performers, they are sometimes surprised.  I think they feel that a project with this sort of emphasis on women's issues should support women's charities or other good causes.



I can understand their feelings.  I also strongly believe that artists should be supported for the work they do.  And this project is being put on primarily by artists and performers who are giving of their time and talent to entertain, inform, and engage audience members who will attend.  It's an interesting concept to think that we should donate our proceeds to non-profits instead of use that income to support ourselves and our art, much of which is helping change the world in ways non-profits typically do. 

Just to bring it into focus personally, in January I chose to quit my well-paying job so that I could pursue my art full time because I have a passion to change how people feel about women's bodies and the way the media portrays us.  I don't have anyone paying me for this work.  I have to raise my own salary through perseverance and dedication to my ideals.  I am spending 25-35 hours/week to put on this series while also preparing for my own huge art show, Not Barbie.  I don't have another source of income, so to be able to do this, I need to get compensated.  If I don't, I simply can't afford to do it.


A woman wrote me expressing her desire that we should give 50% of our profits after expenses to a [very excellent, well-respected, very deserving] local charity.  Here is what I responded to her:

I can certainly understand your desire to help make a difference to nonprofit agencies in the area.  I am aligned with that, for sure.  I also believe that artists deserve to get paid for the work they do, and the artists involved in Beyond Barbie are working very hard to make a difference just as folks in non-profits do.

 My belief is that artists are a vital part of any civilization.  Artists help others become aware of the status quo and what about it needs to change.  If you think about any era of civilization, from the ancient to the present, you probably think about the art from that time, because it is the art that shows us what we need to know about the civilization.

Artists rarely get funding from the government or from private foundations.  They work behind the scenes, often living close to the edge because their commitment to their art is strong enough that they must do it, regardless of the cost.  Artists have a vision and work to realize it.  That is really no different than what non-profits do.  For example, I want to change how women feel about their bodies - I want advertisers to change how they portray women - I want to help us all accept our differences and give up judgment of others.  Those are laudable efforts.  I could incorporate into a non-profit, come up with a mission statement, rent an office, hire workers, and work in many ways to get this message across.  Instead I am choosing to get my message across through my paintings and through this series.  Is that any less effective than what a non-profit would do?  or any less worthy of support?

The night of our series on Birth - women will be telling their stories and sharing their joys and heartaches.  Those stories, more than anything else I can think of, will effectively help women see that they have a choice in birthing options and that all can be good.  It can lead to healing for those women whose births were less than what they wished they would be.  Counseling could help them.  Support groups could help.  And I believe that this night of storytelling and sharing their own experiences will do a world of good, even without a non-profit.

The night on Abuse - we will have professional storytellers (Megan Hicks and Linda Goodman) there who have put their hearts and souls into creating stories about abuse with the intention of helping people understand what abuse is and how it affects people, and to give them hope for healing.  Yes, [the charity you're recommending] is fantastic.  It is a god-send for women living in abusive situations.  I support it wholeheartedly.  AND perhaps there will be women who attend our program that evening who will feel called to go to [that charity] because they recognize themselves in the stories we're telling.  These stories can directly prompt people to action they might not have know how to take otherwise.  We will have lists of resources for them to use, wonderful non-profits and therapists, etc., if they chose to take the next step.  My assertion is that the women who have taken the time to process their own lives to the point where they can tell their stories, or the stories of their mothers and grandmothers or friends or lovers, deserve to be honored for their services, and in our society, money is one way of honoring people.  They should get support so they can continue to tell their stories so they can continue to make a difference.

I believe each evening we've planned has a similar ability to help people.  [...] My heartfelt belief [is]  that what we're doing is as important as much of the work that non-profits do.  Beyond Barbie isn't a money-making scheme.  It's a reaching out to community to offer our stories and our hearts to others to help them understand us and heal themselves.   Non-profits are a vital part of our society because there are few other ways for the hurting in our midst to get help and support.  My husband has worked in the non-profit sector for years, and I was a teacher for 25 years, so I'm very familiar with them.  Right now I am taking direct action to make a difference, AND I am ready to monetarily honor those who help me do it, to the extent the ticket sales make that possible.

Have you personally had an experience as an artist/creative where you felt your work was undervalued or misunderstood for the contribution it is to society?