DC SWAN (Support Women Artists Now) Day is later this month and you are invited to a sneak peek at some of the talented artists whose work will be performed at this free event. Be sure to mark your calendars and show your support of our local artists!
Market Woman by Elizabeth Olson (a Washington poet who passed away last year)
Seated cross-legged near the free-market throng
(Bargaining, seeking, pushing along),
She seemed indifferent–only her eyes
Sharply responded as hands sought a prize
Among the bright cottons arranged on the squares
Of cloth that delineated her shop and her wares.
Neat black cotton suit, sandals dusty and spare,
A broad cone of straw primly circling black hair,
Aged and ageless, remote yet a part
Of peasantry selling from basket and cart,
She used but a word to receive or give fen–
Her handwork attracting both women and men
The commune’s weekly profit-seeking
Was to its morning climax peaking,
When tourists, bus-dropped at the gate,
Pushed in, as if arrived too late
To join the busy, bartering crowd.
With cries of joy and cameras bowed
They focused on each friendly face
Like hunters warming to the chase.
She sat impassive, eyes veiled from intrusion,
Her squares of bright cloth now an isle of exclusion,
Until one searching lens found the unmoving form,
Like a statue untouched in the eye of a storm.
To the “please…” she responded with poise and quick grace;
In her turning, she left them her form–but no face.
Women are creating some of the most exciting and challenging art in the nation today. And yet, despite great strides in other fields and a few high-visibility success stories, women continue to face enormous employment discrimination in the arts. In 2008, Martha Richards of WomanArts designated the final Saturday of March SWAN (Support Women Artists Now) Day, a day to recognize women artists. Over the past three years, there have been over 500 SWAN Day events in 14 countries.
DC SWAN Day is one of the largest in the country, featuring film, music, storytelling, poetry, theatre, visual and performance art in five venues in Georgetown, including:
- Dishing with the Girls, an open discussion between women artists and the community;
- A Staged Reading Marathon of 16 short plays at Grace Church;
- A screening of the 2011 Women in Film and Television International Short Film Showcase;
- Music, storytelling, poetry and performance art;
- Instinctual, an exhibition of art by local women artists (opening March 16 and continuing through March 29, with an artists’ reception Friday, March 25).
All performances are free. For a full schedule and locations, visit www.georgetowntheatre.org.
The National Museum of Women in the Arts offers an early peek at the some SWAN Day performances on Thursday, March 17, 2011 between 2 and 3:30pm. SOAR WITH THE SWANS; MEET THE WOMEN ARTISTS includes poetry; storytelling by Ellouise Schoettler; the screening of a SIS, an award-winning short film from the UK; and the staged reading of Samantha Kuperberg’s 10 PAGE DRAMA, a short play about playwriting. In between performances, attendees will have an opportunity to play “Name That Woman Artist.”
