Archive for the ‘Alaska’ tag
Women of Alaska Series: Introduction
Last Fall, I decided to undertake a series of photographic portraits and narratives of women in Alaska. I wrote about the idea in the early life of this blog: http://www.lauritadianita.info/?p=16. I am finally beginning.
I am interested in sharing the stories of the women that make Alaska the unique place that it is. I am interested in showing the different forms that women’s strength can take: from fixing snowmachines and putting up firewood and hunting to bringing your family across the ocean as a refugee and resettling in this strange, cold land to fighting with wisdom and compassion for the well-being of your people who have lived here for many thousands of years.
For those who are not from here, such stories can provide a much-needed humanity to Alaska; they can provide a portrait of our state apart from the we-all-live-in-igloos misconceptions or Sarah Palin’s mama grizzlies. For those from here, we all, I think, deserve to stop and celebrate the women who are our neighbors, coworkers, family members, forbearers, tribal leaders, legislators, and inspirations. In a state with mostly male legislators and the highest rates of sexual violence in the country, a state where the mayor of the largest city can veto equal rights for LBGT folks, we need to celebrate and promote the places where we are forward-thinking in terms of gender: we have some tough-as-nails women up here doing good things.
I am interested in telling the stories, through photographs and interviews, of what strong and compassionate women do and who they are. Most important to me, however, is the question of how they came to be. How does strength and passion develop? How does someone develop a sense of justice? Where did each woman find her inspirations and role models and which lessons and oppressions did she have to reject? This is important to explore because it gives us clues into how we can raise and educate children to be strong, just and compassionate leaders in the world. And in particular, it guides us in this process for raising our daughters.
Very soon I will have the first installment, featuring Tiffany Zulkosky. You can get a sneak peek of the photo on Flickr.
I *love* the local art community
I <3 the Anchorage arts community because…
- Sheila Wyne’s studio party was the most fun party I’ve been to in Anchorage and it raised money for rad artists Erin Pollock and Steph Kesey.
- Many of my photog friends were there and posted great photos, like Charles Tice’s pix on Flickr (look down for the comments section).
- We go to each other’s shows and promote each other.
- Enzina Marrari, an amazing performance and visual artist, always asks me to provide art for Middle Way Café, so this month I provided not only 3 of my own pieces, but 5 of Oscar Avellaneda’s. Yep, even though he is in Costa Rica doing sea turtle research before biking to Panamá and taking a boat to Colombia and meeting me there in a month (!!!!!!!), he still gets to show his work and maybe sell it. Cuz his fiancé hustles for him.
- Lots and lots of other reasons… Feel free to add your own!
Here are my pieces for the Middle Way show:
The show runs from tomorrow, 8/13/10, the big opening with food until October 6th. Only the nude is for sale, as I already sold the other two.
Oscar’s pix are from his Kids & Bikes collection plus one other. They’re all shot on black and white film and he hand-printed and framed them all.
Kids & Bikes collection: http://www.avephoto.com/kidsnbikes.php
Portraits collection: http://www.avephoto.com/portraiture.php
Let’s Get Some Women in the House!
Please join me and many wonderful co-hosts…
I’ve been working hard on organizing this fundraiser for my mom and Lupe, getting a bunch of co-hosts who are cyclists, athletes, promoters of bike transportation, etc. This event will be a fundraiser, meaning people come and eat tasty appetizers and drink wine, write a check to support the candidates with their campaigns, visit with their friends and colleagues and have fun. But it will also be a forum to discuss parks issues, transportation and bike planning, etc. Both these candidates are advocates for planning that includes bike transport and public transportation, and both, as parks users, support our municipal, state and federal parks. Please come with questions and comments, concerns, friends…and money, even if it’s just a little bit.
You can also sign up to volunteer or donate online.
The candidates’ websites:
my Women of Alaska plan
Last Thursday, Oscar and I were having dinner with Ben & MacKenzie Kerosky and the subject of reactionary politics and sexism in Alaska were brought up. MacKenzie said that this was one of the hardest things about this otherwise wonderful state. I agreed, but remarked that Alaska is also home to so many incredibly tough women who mush and skin otters and chop ice for drinking water, or women who come here as refugees seeking asylum and who have to build their lives anew, women who should make us question traditional gender norms…and then, suddenly, I got an idea:
“Wouldn’t it be wonderful to make a book of photos of the women of Alaska with short bios for each one? Someone should do that.”
Ben asked, “Well, how about you?”
“Yeah, amor,” Oscar added, “It’s your idea.”
And I protested that I’m not a photographer and that I don’t have anything other than an old manual Pentax K-1000 from 1980…but over the next few days it occurred to me that that’s okay; I can make do with what I have just like women here make do with what they have: a new country and language and confusing bus system, a cabin in the woods with no electricity or water, changing ice conditions for hunting and fishing. And anyway, I don’t have to publish a book. I can just talk with the women I meet and take photos and ask to write about them and do it here to share with you, little by little, in whatever time I find.
So that’s my plan. I want to begin with a brilliant Darfurian woman I interviewed and photographed recently for my work once I have a chance to get her consent. If you know women who embody this spirit of making do with what they have, with struggle and survival and adaptation and strength (that’s my criteria for now, anyway, but it might change), let me know.
[Update 11/18/09: I talked and gave a copy of the photo I took to Halima, the Darfurian woman. She agreed that I could interview her and post her photo on the blog, so I will do that in early December. I'm excited!]
