12/31/2015

Support Women Artists Now!



WomenArts - Create, Connect, Change the World.

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Support Women Artists Now! 
Dear Women in the Arts & Media Coalit,
Our twentieth anniversary year has been a huge success so far. With help from supporters like you, we expanded SWAN Day to seven new countries, convened our first international summit, and published a benchmark report on gender discrimination in theatres in our home town.

We need your help to keep the momentum going.
PLEASE MAKE A GIFT TO WOMENARTS!
Make a Gift to WomenArts
Seven New Countries Join the SWAN Day Celebrations!
SWAN Festival Bulgaria
We created Support Women Artists Now Day/SWAN Day eight years ago because we wanted to give women artists a way to see themselves as part of an international movement.  There have now been over 1,500 SWAN Day events, and seven new countries joined us this year – Finland, Czech Republic, Italy, Turkey, Nigeria, Tanzania, and New Zealand!

SWAN Day empowers women artists because they discover they are not alone. Together they have created SWAN plays, films, videos, dances, paintings, sculptures, photography, rock concerts, chamber music, and several operas.
SWAN Day is building our movement. It develops new leaders, and once artists have the experience of working together on SWAN Day events, they start sharing other resources and information.
WomenArts Convenes Our First International Summit
In April 2015 WomenArts convened our first international summit on gender parity in theatre in collaboration with New York’s Women in the Arts & Media Coalition and Equity in Theatre (a coalition of nine Canadian organizations).

We gathered 21 feminist theatre activists in Toronto to review the growing body of research on women’s employment in theatre, share advocacy strategies, and discuss ways to transform our local efforts into a paradigm-shifting international movement.
Toronto Summit Participants
It was totally exhilarating to have activists from New York, Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, and Canada in the same room. Although we knew each other’s work, most of us had never met in person.
It was a game-changing meeting, and the national press took notice. The summit was covered by American Theatre, Howlround, and The Dramatist. WomenArts Executive Director Martha Richards was invited to speak about the summit at the Opera America national conference in May; the Statera Foundation conference in Cedar City, Utah in July; and the Women’s Voices Theatre Festival in Washington, DC in September.  She also participated in a follow-up summit in New York in December.
The Not Even Report Spurs Action in the San Francisco Bay Area
Graph from Not Even Report
Finally, in the San Francisco Bay Area, WomenArts commissioned a benchmark report about the status of women in Bay Area theatres, the Not Even Report,  by Valerie Weak of the Counting Actors Project, in collaboration with Martha Richards, Executive Director of WomenArts, and Christine Young, Associate Professor of Theatre, University of San Francisco.

The study revealed that even in this region that is known for its progressive values, only 27% of the plays produced at local theatres were written by women, and women lagged behind as directors and actors as well. When we published the study, it was shared on social media with over 10,000 individuals and organizations across the country.

The Not Even Report made gender discrimination a hot topic in our local theatre community, and we are seeing more plays by women this year!
Please Help!
We have come a long way in the past twenty years, and as we discover powerful new ways to move forward, your gifts make each step possible.
If you believe in our work, please make a gift this year. You can DONATE ONLINE by credit card or mail a check to:
WomenArts, 1442A Walnut Street #67, Berkeley, CA 94709.
Donate Now
THANK YOU!

12/29/2015

WomenArts Needs You!



WomenArts - Create, Connect, Change the World.

   Home   |   Blog   |   SWAN Day   |   Funding Info   |   Donate   |   About Us  |
Facebook   Twitter

WomenArts Needs You! 
Dear Women in the Arts & Media Coalit,
Our twentieth anniversary year has been a huge success so far. With help from supporters like you, we expanded SWAN Day to seven new countries, convened our first international summit, and published a benchmark report on gender discrimination in theatres in our home town.

We need your help to keep the momentum going.
PLEASE MAKE A GIFT TO WOMENARTS!
Make a Gift to WomenArts
Seven New Countries Join the SWAN Day Celebrations!
SWAN Festival Bulgaria
We created Support Women Artists Now Day/SWAN Day eight years ago because we wanted to give women artists a way to see themselves as part of an international movement.  There have now been over 1,500 SWAN Day events, and seven new countries joined us this year – Finland, Czech Republic, Italy, Turkey, Nigeria, Tanzania, and New Zealand!

SWAN Day empowers women artists because they discover they are not alone. Together they have created SWAN plays, films, videos, dances, paintings, sculptures, photography, rock concerts, chamber music, and several operas.
SWAN Day is building our movement. It develops new leaders, and once artists have the experience of working together on SWAN Day events, they start sharing other resources and information.
WomenArts Convenes Our First International Summit
In April 2015 WomenArts convened our first international summit on gender parity in theatre in collaboration with New York’s Women in the Arts & Media Coalition and Equity in Theatre (a coalition of nine Canadian organizations).

We gathered 21 feminist theatre activists in Toronto to review the growing body of research on women’s employment in theatre, share advocacy strategies, and discuss ways to transform our local efforts into a paradigm-shifting international movement.
Toronto Summit Participants
It was totally exhilarating to have activists from New York, Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, and Canada in the same room. Although we knew each other’s work, most of us had never met in person.
It was a game-changing meeting, and the national press took notice. The summit was covered by American Theatre, Howlround, and The Dramatist. WomenArts Executive Director Martha Richards was invited to speak about the summit at the Opera America national conference in May; the Statera Foundation conference in Cedar City, Utah in July; and the Women’s Voices Theatre Festival in Washington, DC in September.  She also participated in a follow-up summit in New York in December.
The Not Even Report Spurs Action in the San Francisco Bay Area
Graph from Not Even Report
Finally, in the San Francisco Bay Area, WomenArts commissioned a benchmark report about the status of women in Bay Area theatres, the Not Even Report,  by Valerie Weak of the Counting Actors Project, in collaboration with Martha Richards, Executive Director of WomenArts, and Christine Young, Associate Professor of Theatre, University of San Francisco.

The study revealed that even in this region that is known for its progressive values, only 27% of the plays produced at local theatres were written by women, and women lagged behind as directors and actors as well. When we published the study, it was shared on social media with over 10,000 individuals and organizations across the country.

The Not Even Report made gender discrimination a hot topic in our local theatre community, and we are seeing more plays by women this year!
Please Help!
We have come a long way in the past twenty years, and as we discover powerful new ways to move forward, your gifts make each step possible.
If you believe in our work, please make a gift this year. You can DONATE ONLINE by credit card or mail a check to:
WomenArts, 1442A Walnut Street #67, Berkeley, CA 94709.
Donate Now
THANK YOU!

12/11/2015

News & An Invitation




Now mobile friendly!
Coalition Logo
Watch the Livestream on HowlRound from
our #ParityPerc
on December 3
Percolating Gender Parity in Theatre

Invitation from The Moms to a Screening of The Danish Girl 

R.S.V.P.
Read the articles in HowlRound's Gender Parity Series
curated by our Co-President, Shellen Lubin, the week of our #ParityPerc
Read about all the arts provisions in the new
Every Student Succeeds Act,
just signed into law, from the Americans for the Arts blog.
Visit our blog

CONNECT TO US - THERE ARE SO MANY WAYS - NEW INFO ALL THE TIME:


12/08/2015

Voices of Muslim Women from the US South




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Now Available: 
VOICES OF MUSLIM WOMEN
FROM THE US SOUTH 

"In an environment where words such as 'extremism' and 'violence' are all too prevalent, the voices in this film ring true, pure, proud and enlightened." 
Azza Karam,
Senior Advisor on Culture, UNFPA

"Recommended for all undergraduates, student groups, faculty, and administrators who need or seek intercultural understanding." Rosalind I. J. Hackett, PhD, Professor, University of Tennessee

This timely film is essential on college campuses to facilitate dialogue around the often negative rhetoric and misunderstanding of Islamic culture in mainstream media. When one thinks of the American Deep South, the image of veiled Muslim students strolling the University of Alabama campus is the last thing that comes to mind. In VOICES OF MUSLIM WOMEN FROM THE US SOUTHMoroccan born filmmaker Maha Marouan, professor of African American and Women's Studies, explores Muslim culture through the lens of five University of Alabama Muslim students, who must navigate issues of race, gender, ethnicity, and class on a daily basis. 

VOICES tackles how these Muslim women carve a space for self-expression in the Deep South and how they negotiate their identities in a predominantly Christian society that often has unflattering views about Islam and Muslims. Through interviews with students and faculty at Alabama, this film examines representations and issues of agency by asking: How do Muslim female students create a space in a culture that thinks of Muslims as terrorists and Muslim women as backward?


Buy the DVD.



Special Offer: In Response to Hate

With the purchase of VOICES OF MUSLIM WOMEN at full price, get any title below at 50% off. In response to the often hateful rhetoric surrounding Muslim culture, the following films enlighten and challenge stereotypes, while exploring complex issues facing Muslim women in the United States and the Middle East. 


*Use code VOICESE15 at checkout to apply your discount. Applies to institutional orders only. Cannot be combined with any other offer. Other exceptions may apply. Offer expires February 1, 2016. 

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About WMM:

Since our beginnings in 1972, WMM has grown from a feminist filmmakers' collective into an industry-leading nonprofit media arts organization and distributor. For over 40 years, WMM has transformed the landscape of filmmaking for women directors and producers, bringing the issues facing women around the world to screens everywhere. Now, with more than 550 films in our catalog, including Academy®, Emmy®, Peabody and Sundance nominees and award winners, WMM is the largest distributor of films by and about women in the world. Women Make Movies. By Women. About Women. For Everyone. 

Women Make Movies gratefully acknowledges the support of our funders: The National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. The Andy Warhol Foundation, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.

 

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Women Arts Day 2024!

3/23/24 @ SVA Theatre NYC Join us for our yearly celebration during Women's History Month! ...