August 18th marks the anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment into the United States Constitution. On this day in 1920, women were legally guaranteed the right to vote—a freedom inherent to the very notion of what it means to be an American and live in a country that celebrates its democratic system of government.
Brooklyn Arts Council honors the vital role of all women in our society and the progress that has been made in challenging gender expectations and norms. Furthermore, we recognize the ongoing work to enshrine individuals' right to define and express their own gender identity. We commemorate the past struggles women have endured and the battles they continue to face to carve a path toward a more equitable and just world. While aware that there is still more progress to be made, we celebrate the achievements of all women in arts and culture and everywhere else they have broken barriers and marched toward greater representation and equity.
Today, Brooklyn Arts Council also pays tribute to the women who have and continue to make our organization what it is today. We are indebted to Brooklyn Arts Council’s founder, Charlene Victor, and former president, Ella J. Weiss, for their vision, leadership, and cultural advocacy that paved the way for generations of women arts leaders in our community. Under the current leadership of Charlotte Cohen, every year, we honor their legacy through The Charlene Victor & Ella J. Weiss Cultural Entrepreneur Fund, designed to support the professional development of Brooklyn's emerging and mid-career women artists and arts administrators. We are currently accepting applications from Brooklyn-based artists and arts workers through September 17th. Learn more and apply HERE.
Brooklyn Arts Council is thrilled to introduce you to two of our 2021 grantees focused on women’s empowerment, whose work is integral to the diversity and vibrancy of our cherished borough: Kierra Crafton, Director of Operations at Womanly Magazine and musician Marta Sánchez.
Kierra Crafton, Director of Operations
Womanly Magazine
Kierra Crafton, Director of Operations,
Womanly Magazine
Womanly Magazine is a print publication and digital platform providing accessible health information to women and non-binary people through both visual and literary art, lifting up narratives that are often neglected by the typical health magazine. In addition to distributing print editions at no cost at clinics and community centers serving Black, brown, and immigrant communities. Womanly hosts online events, educational classes, and much more.
What inspired Womanly Magazine’s mission to make health information more accessible to women and non-binary people through the visual and literary arts?
Womanly has created a revolutionary platform where artistic expression and health related issues can coexist. Our mission has been to provide agency to marginalized women and non-binary people of color in healthcare through visual and literary storytelling.
How does Womanly Magazine work toward empowering and uplifting the voices of women and non-binary people through art?
Utilizing the creative works of POC artists alongside accurate health information has been very important. Our artists are providing their own anecdotal experiences that our audience can relate to and properly digest.
In what way does Womanly Magazine differentiate from other women's magazines?
This intentional decision to draw parallels between both the artist’s and the audience’s lived experience in healthcare has been relatively absent in other preventative health reading materials. Through the lens of POC artists, Womanly can connect with the reader in a way by which they feel “seen”- in the form of photography, illustration, and literary art.
In what ways does Brooklyn Arts Council empower you to achieve your artistic mission?
The continued support of Brooklyn Arts Council has assisted Womanly in uplifting the voices of POC artists in our digital and print media, thus allowing our platform to inform, engage, and inspire our target audience.
Marta Sánchez
"Opening the Gates"
Marta Sánchez, Opening the Gates.
The band includes Amirtha Kidambi (voice), Kalia Vandever (trombone), Charlotte Greve (alto saxophone), Endea Owens (bass), Lesley Mok (drums), and Marta Sánchez on piano.
“Opening the Gates” is a project that narrates the stories of inspiring women throughout history with music. All the members of the band, a diverse group comprised of women only, write and develop the music together, creating a storytelling format without musical pauses where they connect and present all the compositions with spoken-word narration. Both the music and the prose reflect the events and circumstances in which these brilliant women made a difference. “Opening the Gates” aspires to be an inspiration for young women, not only based on the content, but also by the presentation.
The band includes Amirtha Kidambi (voice), Kalia Vandever (trombone), Charlotte Greve (alto saxophone), Endea Owens (bass), Lesley Mok (drums), and Marta Sánchez (piano).
What are the main themes and subjects that you explore and address through your musical practice?
In this project we are focusing on highlighting the lives of some women that made a difference, women that were pioneers in different fields throughout history. The diverse group of women that make up the ensemble and give life to the project come from different cultures, countries, and backgrounds. Each of them has written music and text about someone that made a difference in her country, race, or culture. By telling these stories we hope to empower women in our own diverse communities.
Can you describe how “Opening the Gates” narrates the historical stories of inspiring women through music? How does this performance aim to inspire women in our community?
“Opening the Gates” encompasses six pieces that combine narration and musical compositions. Each piece tells the story or achievements of a significant woman. The text will describe the facts while the composition will bring the emotions and highlights to that story. We are looking to inspire women in our community by not only telling the story of each of these people, which is in itself inspiring, but also by creating emotions through the music and by performing the compositions with an ensemble of only women, who are also the composers and creators of the music.
How did the collaborative process of putting together this performance inspire you as artists and women?
All the musicians involved in this project come from different cultures and backgrounds. From the beginning, just during the process of choosing who we were going to write about, I learned about many inspiring women that I hadn’t heard about before, women that made big changes for some communities that I am not close to. Musically, our influences are also different, and bringing to life all different compositions and making them a coherent whole has been very enriching. Collaborating in all the steps with these creative women meant that the project has grown in directions that I had not planned.
In what ways has Brooklyn Arts Council helped to empower you to achieve your artistic mission?
First of all, by believing in the project, Brooklyn Arts Council already helped me to achieve my mission. Having the money has allowed me to have the right people involved in this project, writing music, rehearsing, and investing in the vision of it. Basically, having the support of BAC has allowed me to share the creative process with a group of immensely talented artists, which has made the project grow.