NOLAFemmes

March 8 ~ International Women’s Day

Charlotte — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 17:22:11 +0000

I knew this day was coming but still it’s crept up on me, procrastinator that I am. Since I haven’t prepared a post specific to this theme, I hope this blog will stand on it’s own merit as a site that promotes, educates, entertains and celebrates women. I am grateful to have a wonderful panel of women who have taken time out of their busy lives to share their thoughts with you on this forum ~ this is a good time to tell you how much I appreciate you all. Thank you Morwen, Holly, NolaNotes, Nikki, Amy and SwampWoman for sharing yourselves and being great team-members! Thank you to Michelle and Gina, two of my original members who are no longer with us. I miss you. And thank you to the guest postesses and the women I’ve interviewed who’ve tolerated my rather amateurish efforts. I love you all.

This might be a good time also to announce that Nikki Page Sothern will no longer be posting on NOLAFemmes. To say I am devastated is not an exaggeration. I’ve known Nikki for a few years now having first found her through her personal blog, Nola Nik, where we became “chatters” through comments there and on my own blog. I wish you well in your new endeavors and your new life as a mother, Nikki. You will be missed!

So, if anyone out there is interested in being a contributor here, shoot me an email. I’m always on the look-out for new voices.

Today especially, I want to give a shout-out to a blog that I highly respect as a strident voice for women – one that I read regularly and always, always learn from. Please visit Gender Across Borders today for their thoughts about IWD and for live-blogging of participants of Blog For International Women’s Day.

Please take the time today to tell at least one woman and/or girl in your life what she means to you. Happy International Women’s Day!

Filed under: Women Tagged: International Women's Day

Can You Name 5 Female Artists?

Charlotte — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 00:24:15 +0000

That’s the question posed in the beginning of the trailer for Who Does She Think She Is?, a documentary film by Academy Award Winning filmmaker Pamela Tanner Boll, the co-executive producer of Born Into Brothels.

Watching and listening to the trailer for this film really brought home for me the gender-specific issues women face in the artistic community in terms of the devaluation and lack of recognition for their work. Take the following statistics from the film’s press kit for instance:

Source: Guerrilla Girls
• The number of professionally trained artists and art historians in the U.S. – Males 52%, Females
48%
• Percentage of artists at major institutions:
o National Gallery of Art — 98% male, 99.9% white
o National Portrait Gallery — 93% male, 99% white
o Hirshhorn Museum – modern and contemporary art — 95% male, 94% white
• Exhibition opportunities: Juried (artists unknown to juror) – Males 52%, Females 48%
• Exhibitions opportunities: Invited (artists known to juror) – Males 80%, Females 20%
• Gender distribution of visual artists in art texts – Males 90%, Females 10%
• Of the over 100 Tonys awarded since 1947 for theater direction, only 2-5% have been to women
Directors; only 2-6% to African American Directors.

Source: A Room of Her Own: A Foundation For Women Writers and Artists
• Only 9 out of 52 winners of the National Book Award for Fiction are women.
• Only 11 out of 48 winners of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction have been women.
• Women writers won 63% of the awards but less than 30% of the money in awards reported by
Poets & Writers. (Jan/Feb ‘03 issue).
• 94% of all the writing awards at the Oscars have gone to men.
• A recent study by the Coalition of Women’s Arts Organizations showed that in all 1-person shows
for living artists in American museums, only 2% of the featured artists are women.
• 51% of all visual artists are female and women hold 53% of art degrees, but 80% of college faculty
members are male.

~~~

The film follows the lives of 5 women and their struggle to balance family and art.

“Through their lives, we explore some of the most problematic intersections of our time: mothering and creativity, partnering and independence, economics and art. The film invites us to consider both ancient legacies of women worshipped as cultural muses and more modern times where most people can’t even name a handful of female artists.”

I do believe the value disparity between men and women artists isn’t as wide in New Orleans as in the rest of the country. We’re lucky to live in a city where art, music, food, theatre and, indeed, all genres of the creative are valued and celebrated. If only the rest of the country and the world shared our views.

This looks to be a very important and thought-provoking film and oh, how I wish it would be screened here. According to the website, the closest it will come is Atlanta. Here are the particulars:
ArtMamas Atlanta
Saturday, March 27, 2010 @ 4:30pm
The Grounds Coffee House
898 Oak Street SW Suite F
Atlanta, GA 30310
Free Admission

Update: Read Liprap’s beautiful post here about the art of Jay DeFeo.

Filed under: Art, Film Tagged: Art, Documentary Film, Who Does She Think She Is?, Women

fugue

maringouin — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 03:10:23 +0000

I have yet to jump start after the New Year > Superbowl > Mardi Gras combined blowout. Toss in 2 weeks of Olympics drama (curling, of all things sucked me in big time) and where are we now? March…

I feel like I am in a fugue state – trying to get a breath before the Saints (Patrick and Joseph, not the black and gold) of March descend, then the festivals of April get rolling. I am not ready – I want to remain in a state of suspended animation for a little while longer. I feel like I got gipped out of winter hibernation this year, the time to turn off hunker down and refuel. But the trade off was superb, a Super Bowl victory!

I know one thing – I am not complaining in the least about the cold winter we’ve had, because right around the corner the humidity will return along with the scorching temperatures. I’ll take 50 and sunny anytime…

Let me finish by offering something for your fugue state, check out this cool blog I found about urban farming, Pluck and Feather

Filed under: New Orleans Women, The NoLA Life Tagged: New Orleans

Guest Postess: Valentine Pierce

Charlotte — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 03:32:29 +0000

It’s a fact, Jack—but is it?

I often tell people I love the Internet. It is a useful and powerful resource. It offers endless opportunities for gathering information, thought-provoking commentary, and communication. It’s shortcomings? It offers endless opportunity for misinformation, evil/harmful commentary, and avoidance of human connectivity. I currently have two blogs: Valentine Pierce Designs (http://valentinepiercedesigns.blogspot.com), my newest blog, which focuses on graphic design, and Poet Sense and Sensibilities (http://poetsense.blogspot.com). This one is me commenting, sharing, journaling. Sometimes I write things that could be construed as fact so generally I try to check my facts. One time, though, a reader hipped me to an error. I thanked her and reminded myself that I am usually better than that and should be better than that because I am the first one to attempt to verify everything. “Is that true,” I’ll ask? “I’ll have to do some research on that.” As a journalist with more time under my belt than I sometimes care to admit, I should have checked my facts. Even without the journalism background, I need to speak what I know and learn what I don’t.

Another reader checked me on my comment about creative nonfiction. Frankly, I was intrigued that he had read my blog. I guess I was spouting at the time—primarily as a dig against Blakely (http://poetsense.blogspot.com/2009/11/blakely-anybody-know-title-of-his-new.html) who totally ticked me off and because the phrase doesn’t work for me. I tried to clarify that in my response to his comment. Truth is, I probably should have been clearer in my blog that my history causes me to look askew at such a category; his history probably makes him look askew at things I consider normal.

Where is all this going? Well, it’s going in circles, the ones we create when we repeat without investigating. Some of it is funny, like a comment I read about “’round away’ girls.” It was by what I would call a youngster because I am now of that age where people seem like youngsters to me. My age also informs me and I know the phrase is “round-the-way.” In one of my blogs (http://poetsense.blogspot.com/2009/12/i-never-seize-to-be-amazed.html) I noted how someone “seize to be amazed.” They mixed up Carpe Diem—seize the day—and cease to be amazed. But what really got me riding on this train is the Times-Picayune article (http://www.nola.com/business/index.ssf/2010/02/whale_kills_orlando_seaworld_w.html) about a “killer whale.” For me, the news article is only part of the story. The real story is in the comments—as it always is. People just spout their thoughts without thinking twice. Few know that Orca, disaffectionately known as killer whales, are actually dolphins and were, at one time, known as whale killers because they do hunt in groups and can take down animals larger than themselves. Somewhere in time the phrase was turned and the animals were marked. The truth is, like most dolphins, murder is the last thing they do. Why this one killed a trainer and why have others attacked/killed trainers? We need to really think about this. In just a quick search I learned that they die three times as much in captivity as in the wild, that they don’t do well in captivity, that they live in family units or pods for generations, that they can travel 50 to 100 miles a day. No way they can live their normal dolphin lives in captivity. Local and national newscasters called Orca dolphins whales, too, as well as many Internet news sites. This goes to show how we sometimes tend to repeat what we hear without checking the facts.

The other branch to this is how Orca and other animals have been marked as violent, dangerous, killers by humans because they reject what humans are doing to them and their environments.

Yet another story I know is the African elephant in a circus that killed his trainer. Think about how you would act if you were taken thousands of miles from home, had your legs chained so you would learn to make those tiny steps necessary to walk around a ring, and penned when you were supposed to be roaming in the wild?

At this point you are probably thinking, well this is surely the long way around. I agree but we do live in a big circle, so big that we sometimes can’t see how everything is connected and how everything we do or say impacts that circle, most times negatively.

What am I getting to? We are quick to judge—people, animals, situations we know nothing about. We act/speak first, think later. We don’t look past the surface. The animal killed the human, that’s all we know. We don’t know why; we aren’t inclined to take the animal’s side in all this. Not that I don’t mourn for the trainer and her family. That, indeed, is quite sad. The thing is, I also mourn for the animal and all animals that are imprisoned merely to entertain humans.

As well, I am more inclined toward the Paul Harvey approach. Before speaking, considering getting the rest of the story, the whole story, the truth and nothing but, as they would say on Perry Mason. And even be careful with “the truth” because some truths are lies other people tell us are true. We need to find the truth from as many sources as we can or at least try to speak with more caution. Don’t just blurt out the first thing that pops into our heads and don’t repeat what we don’t know. Huh? And, we need to do something about what happens to these animals in these parks, zoos, and those encampments where they are hunted merely for sport. And, we need to take a closer look—at ourselves.

~~~

Valentine is a gifted local poet who’s book, Geometry of the Heart, is a must-have in any self-respecting New Orleans poetry-lovers library. She’s been know to read her original poetry locally at The Maple Leaf and The Goldmine as well as numerous out-of-town venues.

NoLA Hosts Regional Premiere of ‘Ameriville’ This Week

Charlotte — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 06:44:25 +0000

Southern Rep Partners with Junebug Productions, Ashé Cultural Arts Center, and Tulane University
for the Regional Premiere of Ameriville by Universes, which runs February 24 – March 7, 2010.

In AMERIVILLE, the critically acclaimed Bronx-based ensemble group gives an emotionally riveting performance that is not only about Katrina, but also about the struggles and heartbreaks that happened in New Orleans. With the unbelievable power and passion that Universes brings to the stage, stories, facts, and memories are brought back through a mixture of poetry, hip-hop, jazz, and theatre.

Created by Universes, AMERIVILLE gives new insight and urgency to our national re-examination of what it means to be American – with heart, impassioned stomps, and incandescent harmonies. It’s a jubilant cry to rebuild America itself. Universes has created their own brand of high-energy performance, rooted in hip-hop but drawing on a global multitude of lyrical and musical influences and performance styles.

AMERIVILLE will be directed by Chay Yew, who is both a director and award-winning playwright, currently living in New York City. He has directed countless shows and is a recipient of the Dramalogue and OBIE Awards for Direction. As an alumnus of New Dramatists, he currently serves on the Executive Board of the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers. Yew is a graduate from Boston University.

Steven Sapp, Mildred Ruiz-Sapp, Gamal Abdel Chasten, and Ninja make up Universes. All four actors are the founders of the company. Steven Sapp, a graduate from Bard College, is a playwright/actor. Mildred Ruiz-Sapp is part of this group as a playwright/actress/vocalist. Gamal A. Chasten is a songwriter/poet/screenwriter whose work has toured in over 25 U.S. cities and 5 countries. Ninja (William Ruiz) is a playwright/director and also a graduate of Bard College. Universes is a National / International ensemble Company of multi-disciplined writers and performers who fuse Poetry, Theater, Jazz, Hip-Hop, Politics, Down Home Blues and Spanish Boleros to create moving, challenging and entertaining theatrical works. The group breaks the bounds of traditional theater to create their own brand, inviting old and new generations of theater crafters as well as the theater goers and new comers to reshape the face of American Theater.

Southern Rep Artistic Director Aimée Hayes was drawn to this wide-reaching partnership out of a shared belief in the power of Universes’ production. “When I saw AMERIVILLE in last year’s Humana Festival, I jumped to my feet along with the rest of the audience to applaud before the lights came down at the end of the show. After seeing a production that spoke to my hometown in such a ground-breaking and inspirational way, I knew we had to find a way to bring it here to share with our friends and neighbors.”

Southern Rep is proud to be part of this expansive partnership project with Junebug Productions, Ashé Cultural Arts Center, and Tulane University Department of Theatre and Dance that brings together such a diverse group of stakeholders, including school principals, teachers, members of the media, church and business leaders, as well as organizations’ board members to ensure the widest possible impact of Universes’ work in New Orleans. Thanks to the support of the National Endowment for the Arts, Louisiana Division of the Arts, Arts Council of New Orleans, New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation, and the National Performance Network, Southern Rep sees AMERIVILLE and Universes’ residency as fruitful and productive endeavor to benefit the New Orleans community at large.

Junebug Productions (JPI,) a professional African American arts organization located in New Orleans, Louisiana, produces, tours and presents high quality theater, dance and music that encourages and supports African Americans in the Black Belt South who are working to improve the quality of life available to themselves and others who are similarly oppressed and exploited. For the past 29 years, the company has toured the U.S. and performed internationally with John O’Neal, Junebug’s Artistic Director who co-founded the Free Southern Theater in 1963 as a cultural arm of the southern Civil Rights Movement. Junebug Productions is currently creating the Free Southern Theater Institute (FSTI) to codify the particular techniques, ethics, and aesthetics developed by FST and Junebug Productions. Artists from around the region and the nation will be able to come to New Orleans, learn the FST and JPI technique and work with the local community and artists. Junebug is currently offering the third of three pilot program courses, “From Community to Stage”, bringing in artists to work with community residents, high school and university students.

Ashé Cultural Arts Center is an effort to combine the intentions of neighborhood and economic development with the creative forces of community, culture and art to revive and reclaim a historically significant corridor in Central City New Orleans: Oretha Castle-Haley Boulevard, formerly known as Dryades Street. Ashé is a gathering place for emerging and established artists to present, create and collaborate in giving life to their art so as to activate the artistic, creative and entrepreneurial possibilities available in our community. Storytelling, poetry, music, dance, photography, and visual art all are a part of Ashé’s work to revive the possibility and vision of a true “Renaissance on the Boulevard.”

The Tulane Department of Theatre and Dance is a multi-disciplinary program that offers a fusion of performance styles and techniques in the framework of a liberal arts setting. Their diverse and international faculty teaches a mix of approaches that allow their students to explore all aspects of the theatrical and dance arts in order to help them prepare for the world around them. After beginning with the solid foundation of a hands-on curriculum, students are allowed to individualize their journey by choosing study in numerous areas that include academic research, storytelling, regional and international dance styles, acting methodology, community action, directing, choreography, design and technical stagecraft. The Department’s goal is to create the beginnings of a well-rounded dance or theatrical artist who understands where she or he fits into a larger performance community.

TICKETS AND LOCATION:

Regular ticket prices range from $20-$35: $35 for Opening Night, Wednesday February 24 (includes post-performance reception); Individual tickets are $26-$29 with special discounts for students, seniors, K-12 teachers, active military, theatre professionals (with ID) and groups of ten or more. $10 Student Rush tickets are available 15 minutes before curtain on a cash-only basis, with student ID. On the edge of the French Quarter, Southern Rep Theatre is conveniently located on the 3rd floor of the Shops of Canal Place, where validated parking is available. For more information and to order tickets, call (504) 522-6545, or visit southernrep.com.

Southern Rep continues to show that it is staging the most important, challenging, and downright mesmerizing pieces of theater New Orleans audiences are graced to experience. – Theodore P. Mahne, The Times-Picayune Lagniappe

“Their energy and realness is unmatchable.” — The Village Voice

Ameriville is an experience on many levels: percolating, bubbling, and broiling, flooding the theatre to the very last row. Hold your breath and dive in. – Theatre Louisville

“A headlong explosion of poetry, percussion, and multi-culti musical exploration that absolutely demands to be seen.” — The Boston Globe

Filed under: Community Events & Forums, Katrina, Oral History, Theatre Tagged: Ameriville, Ashé Cultural Arts Center, Katrina, New Orleans, Southern Rep Theatre, Theatre, Tuland University Dept of Theatre

Tuesday’s Bejeweled Women

Charlotte — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 17:18:08 +0000

You know when your mamma told ya “the older you get, the faster the time flies”? It’s true. Oh, it’s sooooooo true. Mardi Gras has come and gone and now, and from the comments I see on the social sites, everyone is either sick or tired which tells me is everyone partied their butts off and I daresay they would all swear it was worth it.

I was sick for the two weeks leading up to Fat Tuesday so I missed watching grown adults fighting for plastic beads at the parades (Yeah, that’s bitterness talking.) but I did make it on Fat Tuesday. I went to my BFF”s place in Bywater where we went to a couple of house parties then met up with other friends and walked with the Krewe of St. Anne to the quarter. Part of the fun was that everyone wanted to take my friend’s picture because of his very unique costume (See it here.) and he got lots of hugs, high fives and yells of “Jew Dat!” We stopped at Cafe Rose Nicaud along the way for some hot coffee and muffins to warm up. (Stronger beverages came later.) What a cute little place it is! I highly recommend their carrot-ginger muffins and have had a severe craving for more ever since so it’s on the agenda for my next visit out that way.

I saw The Bourbon Street Awards for the first time – well, in between hordes of people, that is – most with some kind of wild head gear on which is reeeeeeely bad for short people behind them. All the costumes were fantastic but I think K&B man was my favorite – you can kinda, sorta see him here.

There were so many, many wonderful costumes to be seen making Mardi Gras a shutterbug’s paradise. Here are a few shots I took of some of the beautiful, colorful and creative costumes I saw on women Tuesday. We did ourselves proud, girls.

This little woman rocks!

Filed under: Culture, Mardi Gras Tagged: Bourbon Street Awards, Carnival, Costumes, Fat Tuesday, Food, French Quarter, Krewe of St. Anne, Mardi Gras, New Orleans, Photography

Sunday Morning Mardi Gras Magic

coldspaghetti — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 03:32:50 +0000

I know what you think.

You think it’s not for you, this Mardi Gras thing. Maybe you don’t see yourself as much of a drinker. Maybe you’re a little put-off by the whole girls-gone-wild thing; you weren’t the type to want to do Spring Break in South Beach even when you were in college. So you figure that Mardi Gras isn’t for you. And also? That city? New Orleans? Well, you saw the pictures and heard the stories and it’s a mess. You can’t figure out why people would even want to live there, let alone visit.

You’ve thought at least some of those things, I feel certain. I fully admit that until I moved here, I thought THE VERY SAME THING. Actually, both Paul and I did. And now we can say that we were very wrong.

New Orleans is an absolutely fantastic place to be, especially during Carnival season — and especially for families. As an example, here is our family, enjoying parades this past Sunday morning. Music, laughter, conversation, floats, horses, football, dancers, prizes, and of course, beads.

Krewes of Okeanos, Mid-City, and Thoth. Vantage on Magazine Street.

(This post is cross-posted.)

Filed under: Children, Mardi Gras, Photography

Flambeaux

Charlotte — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 17:09:39 +0000

Flambeaux

Photos by New Orleans Lady

Flambeaux originated a century and a half ago to light the floats in night parades. Indeed, the first Flambeaux carriers were slaves and free men of color, that held lights which lit the way for the floats and night parades before there were electric streetlamps able to gather light in such focus that it would enable crowds on the routes to adequately see the style and fancy, of the parades. / From History of the Flambeaux

Filed under: Culture, Mardi Gras, Photographers, Women Tagged: Carnival, Flambeaux, Lundi Gras, Mardi Gras, New Orleans, New Orleans Lady, Photography

These Are Strange & Beautiful Days

Charlotte — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 05:37:44 +0000

As a New Orleanian when you’re faced with a person that just doesn’t get it (as we inevitably are), link to this video. It just doesn’t get any clearer or more heart-felt than what you’ll see and hear in this video. Oh, and my favorite quote?

“New Orleans doesn’t have a place for people that are luke-warm.”

AMEN.

The Soul of New Orleans

Filed under: Culture, New Orleans Saints Tagged: Culture, New Orleans, New Orleans Saints, Videos

New Orleans won the trifecta this past weekend

maringouin — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 01:12:59 +0000

Overheard at work today…

“We sure did win the trifecta this past weekend. New Orleans elected a new mayor without having to go to a run off, the Saints won the Super Bowl, and we’re in the thick of Mardi Gras. Its a fabulous time to be a New Orleanian right now!”

Indeed…

Filed under: 2010 Mayoral Race, Community Events & Forums, Culture, Louisiana, Mardi Gras, New Orleans Saints, Politics Tagged: Mardi Gras, New Orleans, New Orleans Mayoral Race, New Orleans Saints, Superbowl

AND NOW FOR THE SUPERBOWL PARADE!

nikkipagesothern — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 17:57:47 +0000

The Saints will be rolling in a VICTORY (WHO DAT?!) parade Tuesday evening, beginning at 5pm. Yours truly will be rolling in it and I am excited beyond measure -indicated by the caps, which I save for special occasions.

So get yourself recharged, save a wee bit to come out and cry and laugh and dance at the team that has made everything new again!

Filed under: Community Events & Forums, New Orleans Saints Tagged: New Orleans Saints, Saints victory parade, superbowl parade

WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS OF THE WORLD

Charlotte — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 04:09:54 +0000

SAINTS RULE!

Filed under: New Orleans Saints Tagged: football, Lombardi Trophy, New Orleans, New Orleans Saints, Superbowl

ONE TEAM, ONE FIGHT, ONE VOICE, ONE CITY ON SUPERBOWL SUNDAY

Charlotte — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 17:20:16 +0000

Filed under: New Orleans Saints Tagged: football, New Orleans, New Orleans Saints, Superbowl

ONE TEAM, ONE FIGHT, ONE VOICE, ONE CITY

Charlotte — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 04:00:06 +0000

Mitch Landrieu wins race for Mayor of New Orleans.

Don’t let the screen door hit ya on the butt, C. Ray.

Filed under: 2010 Mayoral Race, Politics Tagged: Mitch Landrieu, New Orleans, New Orleans Mayoral Race, Politics

Who Dat Say They Got The Best King Cake?

Charlotte — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 05:24:39 +0000

It’s Carnival time and King Cake is probably the third most popular topic in New Orleans behind The Superbowl and the parade schedule. Everyone has a favorite King Cake, be it traditional or filled, baby or babyless (blasphemy!), with little icing or deeply slathered. Well, ya know, the best is from Gambino’s, Haydels’, Antoines’, Frances’, Rouses, the old McKenzie’s (now available at Tastee Donuts locations locally) and, of course, Randazzo’s…..to name a few.

Chances are that not every New Orleanian has actually tasted King Cake from every bakery in the city which means there is cinnamon-laced deliciousness yet to be discovered. But guess what? You can taste cakes from all over the city on one night in one place, thanks to NOLA Eats.com.

So if you’re in the quarter (or even if you’re not) be sure to stop by and take advantage of having so many of New Orleans’ fine King Cakes just waiting to pass between your lips with a healthy swig of whatever your preferred libation may be.

What: NOLA EATS’ Second Annual King Cake Party
When: Saturday, February 6, 7:00-9:00 PM
Where: Craig Tracy – Painted Alive Gallery, 827 Royal Street

Also be sure to visit YatCuisine for the results and story behind a Randazzo King Cake blind taste test Tweet-up held at BSI Comics. Sticky, yummy fun!

Filed under: Culture, Food, Mardi Gras Tagged: BSI Comics, Food, King Cake, Mardi Gras, New Orleans, NOLA Eats