This is where thoughts become things.

Hi, I'm Daniela. Welcome to my personal lair on the Internet. This is where I write about storytelling, activism, technology and pop culture. Sometimes I post videos. I update my lair when the mood strikes me. Follow me on Twitter for daily updates (@dcap).

Tag : feminism

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Women’s History Month 2012: ’31 ladies who rock’ countdown! and why artist Aissata Pinto da Costa is amazing

With dangerous bills out there and oppressive sentiment from right wing radicals saturating the media, I am happy to take the next 30 days to spotlight women in my life who are living their dreams and helping others in the process (here’s the first in the series). Check out amazing lady #2:

Aissata Pinto da Costa with one of her first paintings

Who Is She?
Aissata Pinto da Costa: Renaissance Woman. Artist. Activist.

Location
A true citizen of the world, Aissata has lived in six countries and speaks five languages fluently. She is a native of São Tomé and Principe, West Africa, and presently resides in Brooklyn.

Known for
– Her incredible (and large) paintings that have been exhibited at venues including Marymount Manhattan College and The Steuben Glass Gallery (New York). She has garnered the attention of art-lovers world-wide, and has an international collector base.

Male Runners (60in x 72in / 1m52 x 1m83)

– Modeling for many years in Paris, where she developed an interest in fabrics, textiles, patterns and the form of the human body, all of which are expressed in her art.

– Being an autodidact: Aissata has taught herself many skills and continually experiments with new techniques and materials. When she was unable to locate African-style dishes, she opted to paint a line of her own by hand. Her collections were discovered and produced by the Portuguese tableware house, Vista Alegre, to great success.

– Exercising daily: She brings the concepts of discipline, physical activity, strength and joy to inform her artistic practice. Running, cycling and practicing yoga and pilates are ways Aissata stays connected to her own body and the physicality of the figures she paints on her canvases.

Affiliation
I met Aissata last year through a friend. The first time I saw her art was in her apartment, where she had many of her earlier works and works in progress on display. I was shocked and impressed when she told me that she taught herself how to paint and actually saw her first painting. I couldn’t afford to buy it so I bought a tshirt that had the image on it ;).

Why Aissata rocks
Subscribe to Aissata on Facebook and find out for yourself! But I’ll share some of the reasons she rocks my world: I love her work ethic and creative output, her inspirational quotes and thoughts that she shares on Facebook on a daily basis (love the motivation!), her confidence and her insight into politics/social issues.

If you want a working artist’s influence in your life, do yourself a favor and follow Aissata. Even better — check out some of her work and if it moves you (it will), purchase a piece of Aissata’s art for your home, workplace or for a loved one.

"Husbands" by Aissata - Acrylic On Canvas ( 36in x 24 in/ 0.92m x 0.61m ) From the series “12 Love Stories”- 2010

On My Radar: Kara Passey and finding radical comics through Tumblr

Writing about my comic-reading and “professional” reviewing history last week inspired me to find some new comic delights to share this week. Here’s one for today:

Kara Passey

Kara Passey is a multimedia artist who makes feminist work with abject themes, often with a humorous twist, drawn from her own biographical experiences. She has attended the University of Manitoba for a BFA with Honours, consistently makes and shows work, curates and organizes events.

I love that she included this description:

Why yes someone did make me mad today. Don’t fetishize my body type. Don’t dictate how I should feel about myself and how I should present myself to society in order to be deemed fuckable.

I found Kara’s comics by browsing items tagged on Tumblr with “feminism,” “radical,” and “gender.” All of Kara’s comic panels that I’ve seen usually address a social issue that I don’t frequently see in the “indie” section of comic shops. I’m pointing this out because I’m just as guilty as the next person of sometimes complaining that something in popular culture doesn’t represent me. Usually I make this complaint after seeing something I don’t like or not being able to easily find someone I want.

My point is that if you can’t find what you want in popular culture/mainstream media, you should try harder to find it or make it yourself. I was looking for indie comics that touched on gender and feminist themes and BAM! I found Kara on Tumblr.

Kara is in the middle of putting together a zine of her art (I can’t wait to get a copy!). You can view more of her work by checking out the “comics” tag on her Tumblr.

On My Radar: INTERNATIONAL GIRL GANG UNDERGROUND ZINE LAUNCHES

My new pal Kate Wadkins recently sent this email blast. My work schedule has been pretty crazy these days so I’m just going to post the entire thing without any snappy editorial flourishes (so sawy):

Myself [Kate Wadkins] and Stacy Konkiel of Soul Ponies have launched a call for submissions for INTERNATIONAL GIRL GANG UNDERGROUND (which may sound familiar to you) – a compilation zine to pick up where riot grrrl left off. I can’t really express how excited I am about it, and to be working with Stacy.

We launched in concurrence with the Sarah Lawrence College 12th Annual Women’s History Conference, The Message is in the Music: Hip Hop Feminism, Riot Grrrl, Latina Music & More. News about the zine is already traversing the airwaves, the BUST Magazine blog even picked it up.

I have one thing to ask of you: PLEASE, SUBMIT!

I am surrounded by amazing people that make music and participate in feminist cultural production – that play in bands, write zines, make art, and live life in a do-it-yourself feminist context. We want to hear from you! Stacy and I have talked a lot about how we want to encourage a multitude of voices in this project, and in particular want to encourage POC voices and trans/queer/genderqueer/ally folks – including transguys and cisguys, to submit their work. The due date is May 31st at 11:59 PST.

Here’s the call for submissions:

THE INTERNATIONAL GIRL GANG UNDERGROUND compilation zine aims to document and dissect how Riot Grrrl’s legacy has manifested twenty years later, as well as provide guidance for those who want to transform “revolution girl style now!” into “REVOLUTION GIRL STYLE FOREVER!”

If Riot Grrrl doesn’t resonate with you or your cause, that’s okay! We also want to know about all the do-it-yourself, grassroots music movements currently being run by women/girls/trans/genderqueer/queer folks today.

We want your submissions! Talking points include, but are not limited to:

ESSAYS ON…
What would a modern-day “Riot Grrrl manifesta” look like?
The successes and failures of Riot Grrrl and what we’ve learned from them
Your experience as an immigrant grrrl, genderf**king boy, revolutionary pornographer, Muslimah punk, working class queer, etc

REPORTS ON…
What was your experience as a Riot Grrrl in the ’90s?
What’s going on in your community that supports feminist & queer DIY musicians today?
Scene reports from regional DIY music scenes that traditionally are lady- and queer-friendly (London, Berlin, NYC, or your town)
Individuals who are making a difference–musicians, activists, writers, whomever!
“Where are they now?” (Riot Grrrl edition)

HOW-TO…
“Get off the Internet and meet in the street”
Reclaim feminism for the 4th wave
Organize conferences, protests, benefits, etc
Combat the “dude-first” mentality of your music scene
Use new technologies to organize effectively
Start a band/go on tour/create a zine/etc
Create spaces for working class, POC, international and rural women and queers

BAND/ZINE/COLLECTIVE/ACTIVIST GROUP INFO…
We’re creating a directory for the International Girl Gang Underground–send along info on your project to be included!

ART…
Print, digital, audio, video, whatever–so long as it’s in an easily rendered format for a black & white zine or can be included on an accompanying CD-R for distribution, we want it!
Visit the GUIDELINES page on our website for more info. Please feel free to spread the word via your own blogs, newsletters, social networking, et cetera; you could even forward this e-mail if you like. It would be a great help!

Yours in the Girl Gang Underground,

Kate Wadkins

P.S. ALL AGES strongly encouraged. Willie Mae Rock Camp folks, please pass this on to your lists and encourage any of the young rocker-grrrls to submit!