Herstory/Mystory

2011-01-03T08:21:00.000-08:00

Life stories tell who we are; Through the stories of women we convey our identities and remember our traditions and histories.

Herstory/Mystory is an ongoing multi-faceted series of connected projects that merge art with personal and cultural history.

Through a series of community-based art projects and interactive participatory initiatives, Herstory/Mystory will collect, document, and exhibit the stories of everyday women; Women whose histories would not ordinarily be recorded. It is within the chronicles of their lives that the truths and richness that define humanity can be found.

The collected narratives will be combined, constructed and deconstructed to create a series of mixed media art pieces that will include sculpture, photography, sound and video installation and performance art, and will be exhibited in both traditional and non-traditional exhibition venues.

Initiatives

Herstory/Mystory.com
A New York Foundation for the Arts Fiscal Sponsored Art Project

Project Director Elvira Clayton
Project Co-director Walford Williams

Herstory/Mystory.com is an internet-based participatory art installation
that features a Senior Outreach initiative.

The site's visitors will view and contribute herstories, narratives that celebrate female ancestors and family matriarchs.

With the Senior Outreach Initiative, we will collect oral story contributions
from New York Area senior citizens that will be featured on the Herstory/Mystory.com website.

The sites visitors will be invited to participate in the creative process by contributing a herstory.
They can send text and a photograph that represents the subject of their narrative.
Submissions will go to a data base where they will be edited for content and then posted to the site. Stories will be formatted as text, audio and photographic images.

We are currently raising funds to realize this project.
Your support through a tax-deductible contribution can be made through
The New York Foundation for the Arts Fiscal Sponsorship program, search Herstory/Mystory.com at http://www.artspire.org/ArtistDirectory.aspx

Telling Herstory
A Community-Based Collaborative Art Project.

It is imperative that we remember the ones who came before us.

Telling Herstory, is a community-based art project that will collaborate with a group of multi-cultural senior citizens to create an art installation. Through a series of interviews we will document oral narratives from seniors that celebrate their female ancestors. Once the interviews are complete, we will combine audio segments with other elements to create a mixed-media installation. The culmination of this project will be an exhibition that will be free and open to the public.

Telling Herstory is a one year initiative. Phase one will began February 2011. We will continually update the progress of this project as it proceeds.

Project Director Elvira Clayton
Project Co-director Walford Williams