Posted on August 25, 2015 by admin

The Vera Project is excited to host The Women’s Creative Industries Forum this Saturday from 10am to 3pm! Experience presentations and live performances by women who design sound, produce radio shows, make films, and beyond. Get to know other professionals and beginners in these creative industries with networking activities and a women-centric resource fair. As always at The Vera Project, all ages and gender identities are welcome!

Amy Piñon, a Vera board member and audio engineer, organized the event: “Representation of women, especially women of color in media, in the workplace, and in leadership is extremely important, especially in traditionally white-male dominated industries. This event is a response to this inequity, and aims to create visibility and viability for women in creative technology fields. As a woman of color audio engineer, I seek to uphold space to inspire and empower the next generation of women engineers, innovators, and culture shifters.”

The event, which is free to the public, will feature presentations by Nancy Chang (Reel Grrls), Sharlese Metcalf (KEXP), and Grey Ellis (visual/audio artist), as well as performances by Whitney Mongé and Naomi Wachira, and DJ sets by Taryn Rene Dorsey (Wiscon/Base tan/POC as Fuck). Bios below.

A woman-centric resource fair will be in the gallery space, featuring these great organizations:

Seattle Theatre Group

Reel Grrls

RadioActive

Powerful Voices

Queer Rock Camp

Rain City Rock Camp

The Recording Academy

Seattle Office of Arts & Culture / The Creative Advantage

Seattle Office of Film + Music

 

Presenter Bios:

Sharlese Metcalf has worked in music in the northwest for 14 years, and is the host of KEXP’s Audioasis and coordinates their Music Community Events. She also co-curates a music video showcase for KEXP and Northwest Film Forum called Videoasis and hosts False Prophet at Kremwerk.

Nancy Chang is a culture shifter based in Seattle – where she has recently declared her life’s mantra as being feral and free. She is passionate about creating strong authentic and inclusive communities through her work as the co-founder and board chair of Skate Like a Girl, a board member for Water 1st, Artist Trust, and as the executive director of Reel Grrls.

Grey Ellis is a white organizer of queer DIY music spaces such as Queer Rock Camp, an organizer of immersive performance and arts events, as well as a musician, video artist, and performance artist. They strive to make strange and safe places for the development of unique expression, empowerment and exploration, both as play and as a political tool for sharing knowledge, and holding complexity.

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Performer Bios:

Whitney Mongé (http://whitneymonge.com/)

Seattle Alternative Soul artist, Whitney Mongé, is the best street performer in the Northwest according to the Seattle Weekly in 2014. She began her music journey busking in the Pike Place Market in 2007, which has since led to several opportunities such as appearances on television networks CW11, PBS, ESPN, and various radio shows like NPR’s Speaker Forum.

 

Naomi Wachira (http://www.naomiwachira.com/)

Drawing inspiration from artists such as Tracy Chapman and Miriam Makeba, Naomi blends elements of African rhythm, American folk, and soul in her music.

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