Introducing The Harmony Project:
WomenArts Cultural Partnerships
The Harmony Project is a bold new addition to WomenArts' ongoing efforts to bring the full power of women’s artistic creativity to the struggle for women’s rights and social justice.
This is an exciting time for women, since there are so many organizations that are advocating for our rights. What would happen if those groups started collaborating with women artists to advance their causes? Could we win the battle for women's equality faster by engaging people's hearts and minds through the arts?
Thanks to a generous grant from the Nathan Cummings Foundation, Arlene Goldbard and I are investigating these questions. To start the conversation, Arlene has interviewed ten amazing women artists (see the list below), and she will be writing about them for us in the coming months.
Meanwhile, I have been working on some model partnerships here in the San Francisco Bay Area. If you would like more information about the Harmony Project or our model partnerships, please visit www.WomenArts.org/harmony.
We always love to hear from you, and we hope you will join in this dialogue. If you know of any inspiring partnerships between women artists and organizations working for women's rights, or if you have other thoughts you would like to share, please Write to Us or Visit our Facebook page.
Martha Richards,
Executive Director
Artists Interviewed by Arlene Goldbard
Over the next few months, Arlene Goldbard will be sharing advice and wisdom from women artists who have strong track-records in collaborative projects. You will learn how to get started, what to consider as you enter into partnership, what makes the work strongest, and much, much more.
For now, we want to start by introducing you to the ten amazing women artists who took part in Arlene's initial interviews. Click on the artists names below to see pictures of them and learn more about their work.
Martha Boesing – Playwright & Director, Founder and Artistic Director of the legendary "second wave" feminist theatre company, At the Foot of the Mountain.
Susan Cervantes – Visual Artist & Muralist, responsible for more than 400 murals including The San Francisco Women's Building Mural, MaestraPeace.
Debra Chasnoff -Academy-award winning documentary filmmaker, Founder ofGroundspark, and a leader in the movement to create safe and welcoming schools.
Sarah Crowell – Artistic Director of Destiny Arts with over 20 years of experience as a dancer and arts educator.
Beth Grossman – A socio-political artist who sees the visual as a way to create community dialog and make charged topics accessible.
Meena Natarajan – Executive and Literary Director of Pangea World Theater, committed to creating an international ensemble.
Donna Porterfield – Managing Director of Roadside Theater, creating a body of drama based on the history and lives of Appalachian people.
Marty Pottenger – An Obie-award winning solo performance artist and director, and most recently, the founder/Director of Art At Work.
Rene Yung – A cross-disciplinary civic engagement artist who helps communities connect people, history and place to address social and cultural issues.
Jawole Willa Jo Zollar – founder and Artistic Director of Urban Bush Women, which brings the untold and under-told histories and stories of disenfranchised people to light through dance.
About Arlene Goldbard
Arlene Goldbard is a writer and consultant focusing on the intersection of culture, politics and spirituality. You can read her talks and writings at: www.arlenegoldbard.com.
Her most recent books include New Creative Community: The Art of Cultural Development (New Village Press, November 2006), Community, Culture and Globalization (Rockefeller Foundation 2002) and Clarity, a novel.
Her essays have been published widely, and she speaks frequently. She has provided advice and counsel to hundreds of community organizations, independent media groups, funders and policymakers. She is writing a new book on art’s public purpose. She serves as President of the Board of Directors of The Shalom Center.
Arlene Goldbard
Special Thanks
WomenArts is supported by generous grants from the Nathan Cummings Foundation, the Meyer Levy Charitable Foundation, the Peace Development Fund, East Bay Community Foundation, the Leo S. Guthman Fund, the Do A Little Fund, and by gifts of time, energy and money from artists and arts supporters around the world.
About WomenArts
WomenArts (formerly known as The Fund for Women Artists) is a community of artists and allies dedicated to celebrating and supporting art by and about women. For an overview of our programs and services, please see the About Ussection of our website.
WomenArts
3739 Balboa Street #181
San Francisco, CA 94121
Phone: (415) 751-2202
Website: www.womenarts.org
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(Note: WomenArts is the new name of The Fund for Women Artists,
a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation.)
