By Natasha T. Brown
In an August 2012 Huffington Post article, Designer/Author Vicky Tiel wrote, “It's about time women rule in the art world. We are half the sky and only 23 percent of the art on display in galleries in New York, but that will soon change as 40 percent of working women now earn more money than their husbands in America, and will soon realize that they must support their sisters in the arts and buy their work.”
When we think about equality, empowerment and advancement of women, the conversation of women equality in art may not be the first area that comes to mind. Women and girls are thought to be artistic and creative with the ability to create feng shui from an ordinary atmosphere.
However, despite public perception, women artists are not paid or showcased equally compared to male counterparts. In my final Sophisticated Sunday feature during Women’s History Month I encourage dialogue about these realities as well as spotlight an upcoming program hoping to equalize the playing field for women artists. Below you’ll meet female trailblazer, Timea Gaines, 24, Chief Executive Officer of Love Life Media, founded in 2012. Gaines is the creator of SheROCKS, an all-ages celebration of women in the arts, taking place on March 30, featuring visual artists; as well as dance, music and instrumental performances and dialogues with female filmmakers and entrepreneurs.
According to The National Museum of Women in the Arts, 51 percent of visual artists today are women, however, only 5 percent of the art currently on display in US museums is made by women. Additionally, women earn more than half of the MFAs granted in the US, but only 1/3 of gallery representation is women, NMWA adds.
SheROCKS will encourage girls and women to pursue careers in the arts, while empowering them to realize that they have a place in the mainstream arts and entertainment industries. The vision of SheROCKS stems from the overall goal of Love Life Media to create a platform where positive media can be mainstream for college students, teenagers and young, working adults. As a culmination to Women’s History Month, SheROCKS is a “wonderful artistic movement,” said Gaines, and one that she hopes will continue past the March 30 celebration.
OnStage: What inspired you to want to put together SheROCKS?
Gaines: I have an extensive background in the arts and I was considering and looking into doing a documentary focused on different women who inspire. I thought about the arts and I thought about how many women are celebrated/showcased in the arts, and realized that it’s very scarce (a little less than 30 percent), and I thought that was surprising. I didn’t feel that women were recognized the way we should be. You always hear that, “You’re good to be a girl.” But I want women to know that they aren’t just good, being a woman, they are good for the world, and they have something great that they can offer the world.
OnStage: What will the highlights of the evening be?
Gaines: We have so many great acts that are coming, but I feel like the highlight of the evening will be some of the women entrepreneurs who will be talking about their businesses. For example Tiffany Gill and Elecia James will talk about their film called, “Black Girls Unscripted,” I’m excited.
There are so many woman entrepreneurs whose businesses will be vending. I think it will be a highlight for everyone and it will be great to see so many women who are doing their thing in the industry.
OnStage: Is there a charitable aspect of the program?
Gaines: Yes, I’m so excited to be partnering with Soul La Femme, a non-profit organization that helps to train girls in the arts. We’re actually developing a mentoring partnership where Love Life Media will be providing a mentorship to young women who want to go into the communications field.
OnStage: I love that you’re going to be working with young girls in our field of communications. So now, let’s talk about the artists for SheROCKS. Tell us about them.
Gaines: Kendall Isador is an awesome violinist who just was put on the platform for the National Cherry Blossom Festival in DC. This girl is just amazing,
Candra on Bass – OH MY GOSH! This girl plays down and tears the key bass up.
I’m excited about Chi Chi Monet, a 10-year-old inspirational recording artist and what she represents. We’ll have young kids there as well, and for them to see a young girl like Chi Chi doing something positive will hopefully get them motivated.
Brittanie Thomas is a neo-soul artist who has a lot of funk, so I’m excited. And that’s just to name a few.
It’s seven days a way and I’m excited. I hope that this event will inspire people to want to support these artists and these entrepreneurs, because it’s more than just a night. It’s all gender bias as it relates to the artists. Women in different fields will rock and I’m hoping it will ignite a fire beyond the event.
SheROCKS has just 30 more slots left for attendees. Purchase your tickets online here: http://www.lovelifemedia.com/sherocks/. The event will be held at 3501 Bunker Hill Road, Mount Rainier, MD 20712. Be sure to follow Love Life Media at @LLM_LoveLife on Twitter.
Natasha Brown is a writer and founding communications strategist of Think Brown INK, a creative think tank and communications agency, focused on social responsibility branding for artists, entertainers and entrepreneurs. Follow her on Twitter @NBrownINK or @TBINatasha or her company @ThinkBrownINK.