“Hey lady!” reads the flyer. “Does a showcase celebrating and encouraging the artistic, organizational, and political work and talents of women sound good to you?” It sounded pretty good to Marf Wright last fall, after she got back from Olympia, Washington.
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“It was just amazing,” says Wright, a grant maker for a small local foundation. “I went halfway across the country and, getting there, I really felt a part of something.”
“It changed my life,” says Ava Johnson, a photographer and performer who also made the trip from Chicago. “The workshops and meeting people–it was like, yeah, the bands are cool, but there’s work to be done too!”
Though some programming is already confirmed–mostly out-of-town acts like grrl “supergroup” Le Tigre, Detroit’s DJ Minx and DJ Jenuine, and acoustic duo Canadian twins Tegan and Sara–the festival is still very much in the planning stages. There’s no shortage of ideas, though. In addition to a multimedia performance installation at the Spare Room and an open-mike program sponsored by the Guild Complex, there are plans for film and video screenings, juried art exhibits, mobile mammograms, self-defense classes, and workshops on auto mechanics, amp repair, pirate radio, women’s health, reproductive rights, and the death penalty; Milwaukee’s Guerilla Cheerleaders say they’re coming down, and someone’s talking to the Park District about mounting a water ballet performance in a public pool.
–Martha Bayne
