A Room of One's Own: Adding Women's Voices to the Arts

This election season, we are hearing a lot about women's advancement (or lack thereof) in the political sphere. While there is still a lot of work to be done to get more elected female representation, the opportunity gaps in the creative world are just as stark.

According to A Room of Her Own (AROHO), a nonprofit organization that offers opportunities "for women and men to help women artists in various fields of art express their own voice and vision," the "often fatal gap between a woman's economic reality and her artistic creation" keeps women's voices out of the creative marketplace. For example, AROHO reports that:

Women writers won 63 percent of the awards but less than 30 percent of the money in awards and grants reported by Poets & Writers. (January/February 2003 issue)
51 percent of all visual artists are female and women hold 53 percent of art degrees, but 80 percent of art faculty members are male.
68 percent of total art income in the U.S. goes to men and 73 percent of all grants and fellowships in the arts go to men.

There are more depressing statistics at AROHO's stats page. Virginia Woolf wrote in A Room of One's Own that "creative women had a problem: Not enough money and not enough locked rooms in which to work." As Kim Ponders, the director of the biennial retreat (and former BlogHer CE) explained, "There are so many women throughout history that have so much to say and such a creative voice, and no way to say it because they are trying to raise children and work to earn money." AROHO wants to alleviate this problem by providing both funding and a supportive environment (way better than a locked room, in my opinion) to help women nurture their voices and be heard. They do this through the Gift of Freedom grant program and the biennal retreat.

The Gift of Freedom is serious money: $50,000 to support a woman writer is offered every two years. This year, AROHO is seeking applicants working in the genres of Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, and Playwriting. The application deadline is rapidly approaching, so waste no time. Applications are due October 31. Don't delay!

The biennial retreat takes place at the inspirational Ghost Ranch, which was Georgia O'Keefe's ranch in New Mexico. Any woman can apply to attend the retreat, which will take place next year from August 10-16. (Applications should be available by the end of September 2008.) Applicants should be committed to the craft of fiction, nonfiction, playwriting, or poetry. Women come from all over the country, and in some cases, the world, and have many professional backgrounds: lawyers, loggers, forest fire smoke jumpers. Ponders notes that there is something special about bringing women together to reinforce the validity of each other's dreams. In addition, the all-female faculty have very strong voices (although not all have a feminist agenda). For example, Ellen McGlauphlin re-wrote Greek plays from a woman's perspective. Another seminar will offer information on how to write for NPR. It sounds like an amazing experience for women writers. While this is all exciting, the extra dollop of good news is that many different types of scholarships are available.

For those women who want their voices heard, but can't make it to Ghost Ranch or are not nonfiction writers, the AROHO website offers support and encouragement. I am a big fan of their Pull the Lever. "Pull the Lever" is a poem that one of the retreatants wrote about just getting up and doing it - don't listen to the negative voices. It is not a therapy poem; it is a rant against the people who would try and keep you from your goals. Like everything else AROHO does, it is awesome.

Other support for women's creative voices can be found at sites like Women & Hollywood and Women on Writing (hat tip: Adele Nieves).

Suzanne uses her voice on her blog, Campaign for Unshaved Snatch (CUSS) & Other Rants, and in her book, Off the Beaten (Subway) Track. She encourages everyone to exercise their voices, too, and submit a story about her experience with menstruation at Congratulations, You're a Woman Now!.

Submitted by Suzanne Reisman (view blog

) on Thu, 09/11/2008 - 1:04pm

Posted In

Comments (5)

Twitter

Facebook

StumbleUpon

Comments

Good post...

and well crafted as usual, Suzanne.

What a wonderful way to jump start a career!

When it comes to writing, it bothers me that most bestsellers on shelves are by men. It bothers me that many organisations where women dominate at the line and middle management level only to find top management is largely male.

When I was hired by an insurance company in an entry level position in 1979, well before crossing gender lines, the manager who hired me asked me 'how will you like working with a bunch of bitchy women?' He had just hired me!

His department had something like 40 employees. 2 were male, and to him... I was the third. *cough*

I write, in fact I've been writing a blog book, but would never claim to be remotely near professional level; its just a whole lot of fun. That many women would love to develop careers as writers, I urge you onward!

nelle

llhaesa

Submitted by nelle2nelle on Thu, 09/11/2008 - 16:13

Empowering Women in the Business World

While non of these professions are in the art field, here are some jobs where women are earning more than men...

• Sales engineers
• Statisticians
• Legislators
• Automotive technicians and mechanics
• Baggage porters
• Financial analysts
• Aerospace engineers
• Advertising managers

According to an article on AOL, women tend to verbally outpace men and are excellent with details and follow-up, and it is these characteristics that enhance their workplace performance. Currently, women are also receiving college degrees in larger numbers than men. After graduating, they are moving to large urban cities, where, in the past few years, there has been an increase in women earning more than men.

I am very passionate about empowering women and it would be nice to one day soon see the stats you noted reversed.

Kaira Author, Real You Incorporated: 8 Essentials for Women Entrepreneurs www.RealYouIncorporated.com

Submitted by kaira on Wed, 09/17/2008 - 10:22

Automotive Careers for Women

There are amazing careers opportunities for women in the automotive industry as engineers, in sales and marketing, technology and management. Women are just not applying for these jobs!

Take a look at these women and see what they are doing as career women in the auto industry:

http://www.askpatty.com/advisors.php

You can also visit the Women's Automotive Association International and apply for a scholarship if you are a woman automotive student in need of help: http://www.waai.com.

Jody DeVere
President
www.askpatty.com
www.carblabber.com

Submitted by Jody DeVere -- Ask Patty on Thu, 09/18/2008 - 05:52

Women glass artists raise money for charities

Suzanne - I thought you might find this interesting.

The 2009 Female Flame Off -

http://www.femaleflameoff.net

Women glassblowers raise money for charity·

Where:
Trinity Glassworks
11836 Judd Court 338 C
Dallas, Texas
What: The fourth annual Female Flame Off
When: OCTOBER 16, 17, and 18, 2009
Who Benefits: This year the Flame-Off is raising funds for a local organization, the Texas Organic Farmers & Gardeners Association. What is TOFGA?
TOFGA stands for "Texas Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association". It is a state-wide organization of about 600 members. It was established in 1992 as a 501(c)(3) corporation with the original name of "Texas Organic Growers Association". A few years ago it changed to its current name to respond to the interest of Master Gardeners and organic garden clubs.

TOFGA is a publicly supported, non-profit association whose members include ranchers, farmers, commercial plant growers, retailers, wholesalers, processors, distributors, consumers, and anyone desiring to support the organic industry in Texas.
This event is FREE and OPEN to the public!
Participants in the 2009 Female Flame Off will be competing against each other. As in past years, judging, awards, and an auction will take place. During the flame off, women glassblowers will create works of glass art to be auctioned off to benefit this year's charity organization. Observing the event is free to the public.
While many glassblowers are men, increasing numbers of women are drawn to the lure of the flame and molten glass. A flame off is a competition for glass artists to see which artist or team creates the best piece in a category within a specified amount of time. The Female Flame Off provides an opportunity for women glass artists to gather, create, and help others in need.
“We always want to be able to give to others,” says Roze Chikiar, Austin, TX glass artist and Female Flame Off organizer. “This event is about giving back what was given to us and supporting others through our support network.” Chikiar originally conceived of the Female Flame Off as a party so she could meet other women glass artists, but the event has evolved into something more; it’s become a group of connected, caring friends who keep in touch throughout the year.
“I think it’s a great event for everyone, not just women,” says Corinne Winters, who has attended many Female Flame Offs.
“All flame offs are exciting...doing flame offs gives me a reason to push myself to try new things and be more inventive.” Winters adds, “I think some women may be intimidated by the number of men in other flame offs...I think women tend not to be as competitive as men, so the Female Flame Off is a more comfortable environment for them.”
The location of the Female Flame Off changes each year, as does the designated charity. The first Female Flame Off, held in Chicago in 2006, raised $800 for the Austin chapter of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. The 2007 Female Flame Off, held at the Philadelphia Glass Works in Philadelphia, PA raised $1,820 for Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN). The 2008 Female Flame Off, held at Revere Glass Works in Berkeley, California. raised $450.00 for Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA).

http://www.femaleflameoff.net

Submitted by kindred12u on Mon, 04/27/2009 - 08:39

out of work illustrator /not enough $$ to
keep it up after kids

My life as a new york city artist ended after three kids and marriage to a sicilian man. Please view my autobiographical images as a city mom.. Please check out my my motherhood cartoons which can be seen at my website www.julialicht.com. Look under the heading titled , "motherhood."