REBIRTH

Artist Statement

This remix really spoke to my desire to maintain a positive mindset throughout these unprecedented times and remember that we will come out of this stronger. Michael Buble's "Feeling Good" is a song that needs no further explanation; in this remix, his beautiful lyrics are seamlessly integrated with a classical music beat (done by IndianRaga) in a way that will brighten any mood. The fiery orange lehenga I am wearing reminded me of a phoenix being born from the ashes of its past. And, performing outside felt so incredibly free - the brilliant sun, the gentle breeze, the pleasant scent of freshly bloomed flowers.. this truly felt like a celebration of new beginnings. I found so much joy in creating this and hope you enjoy watching! Thank you again :)

Artist Bio

Vinaya is a 3rd year medical student in Ohio and is passionate about adolescent reproductive health and health communication. She recently took a gap year for research, and during this time, she started formally learning Kuchipudi (a form of classical dance that originates in Andhra Pradesh, India). She instantly fell in love with the dance style and its ability to connect her to her family roots. She is so grateful to WeTheWomen for its dedication to empowering women and encouraging artistic expression!

Artist Statement

My video Bird Dance belongs to a series called Pure Pleasure, made after my father died of cancer. As he gradually lost mobility and the ability to go outside to tidy his garden, or drink a cup of tea, I gained a different appreciation of the importance and joy of simple pleasures. For me, death has two sides – an end and a beginning. I captured that life-affirming sense of joy, and rebirth after loss, in a series of portraits of my partner – who inspired the series title when she flippantly said “I am pure pleasure.”

Artist Bio

The characters in my work are based on the people closest to me – observing the strategies and mechanisms that family and friends use to cope with life's obstacles. These performance-paintings appropriate modernist tradition but, as my characters leap out beyond the picture plane to confront the viewer, challenge the idea of a woman's place within those traditions. I recreate my watercolour and oil paintings as performance-paintings – I paint costumes and paper backdrops and bring my painted characters to life with dance and movement to self-composed soundtracks.

Artist Statement

I wanted to communicate in my song how this time of quarantine can be a gift. Some of my friends have expressed feelings of guilt for not capitalizing on all this downtime due to feeling depressed and anxious. My point is there’s no right or wrong way to use this time. Just standing and being is enough. I wanted to express the ying and the yang of this time. A lot of us can’t work or feel safe going outside, but we can use this time to reconnect with ourselves. That’s the rebirth aspect. Our everyday lives and schedules can cause us to be so distracted, we forget who we are and what we care about. That’s why this time can be special despite the many obstacles it brings.

Artist Bio

Lia Richardson is a comedian, model, and singer based in Los Angeles, with roots in Portland, Oregon. You can listen to her music on Spotify or the canceled CW series "Significant Mother." Lia performs regularly across Los Angeles at iconic venues such as the Hollywood Improv and The Comedy Store, opening for comedic heavyweights like Jeff Garlin and Theo Von.

Artist Statement

"By God" is actually a combination of three poems I was struggling to finish. Each section was a different meditation based on where I was at in thinking about my community and my family. I am at a point in my self-awareness where I understand that there is nothing I could have accomplished without my support system, which is comprised mainly of Black womxn. Putting together these three sections was like building a physical manifestation of this, the idea that I'm an amalgamation of all of the Black womxn who have put their time into fighting for me, getting to know me, and loving me for who I am.

Artist Bio

Rachel K. Godfrey is a writer and arts educator from New Jersey. She is the founder/editor of the Medium blog, Chews and Swallows (@chewsandswallows). Godfrey also curates musical content for One Girl, One Record (@OneGirlOneRecord), a blog about album art, history, and news across her favorite genres.

Artist Statement

For this one I "brought" the Queen of Soul and Whitney's Mama on board. Because, you know, we need to get together for this re-birth thing. What I've been experiencing in the past few weeks is that solidarity and generosity ( material and interpersonal ) are going to be the one thing to focus on. They already feel different. Cause everyone's feeling sore. Re-birth is going to be so so so real in the coming time. Just because there is so much loss. So, I hope people stick with music, the greatest lifter-upper...

Artist Statement

Billboard Magazine sought the NY singer/songwriter out for their Scouting report, hailing her as “a pure artist ”. "Soul Singer/songwriter [Sophia Bastian] combines smoky vocals with modern, youthful lyrics to deliver something both old and new." From NYLON: "Imagine your favorite soul singer and hip-hop artist had a love child. Do you know what that love child would look like? We do―and we know her name, too: Sophia Bastian. The New York native first broke out on the music scene in 2013 with her debut EP, Juvenile Blues. She is a kid of the classics, citing Ray Charles, James Brown, and Nina Simone as a few of her biggest influences. This shows in her music, with its soulful rhythms and high spirit, paired with her nostalgic voice. She may be young but her pipes are wise beyond her years; just listen to “Blind Ambition.”

Artist Statement

Recently got back into creative expressions and this poem is one that was inspired by the ascent of woman throughout history. I formed a kindred connection with Enheduanna who was a high priestess and the first poet to sign their name in recorded history. I decided to channel what I’d learnt and was still learning about being a woman. I wanted the shared and historic sisterhood to come through. But most importantly, it is a prayer for appreciation, love, wisdom, strength, endurance, and forgiveness of self and others. I have been mourning the loss of my “freedom of movement”. Just before the pandemic, I was set to travel to start some new opportunities. I felt cheated, trapped by this pandemic in a space I was itching to escape. With my writing and art, I am able to transport myself from my anxieties and carry others along with me. In rebirth, I am introspective, reflective, and productive. I cannot run away from my problems, but I am learning to work through them. This prayer helps ground me in my meditations.

Artist Bio

My name is Maureen Chioma Amadi and I am a psychologist, writer, and artist. I’ve always written but left it to “pursue” my academics. I mainly focus on mental health topics, child development, disability, women, and LGBTQ+ topics in my writing because it is what I have the most experience in with personal life and work.

Artist Statement

Given the prompt of Rebirth I was awoken out of a state of numb anxious depression which consisted of potato-chip-eating-frenzies on the floor and calls to ex boyfriends with new girlfriends and so many hours of the Disney plus app I couldn't possibly keep count. Suddenly, awoken, still tear stained and covered in crumbs, I walked to my computer, sat down and came up with the concept of a series called ZOOMING, all totally doable in a quarantine, all shot on zoom, all at my fingertips. And all this from the prompt We the Women provided of what is being rebirthed in us in this moment of apocalypse, isolation and worldwide change. As an artist (actor, writer, singer, director) living in Los Angeles, I have often find myself frozen in my creativity, nothing ever seeming to be good enough. But among many other things this quarantine is the GREAT EQUALIZER, bringing us all back to basics and forcing us inside. And in that atmosphere I felt my frozen self melting and able to bring voice to my experience. This episode, but really this entire series IS that voice.

Artist Bio

Juliet Tondowski was born to two theater actor parents (hence the name, people).  They moved around the US and Europe until college where she studied Music, Theater and Dance at Bennington College with a minor in drinking too much (she’s a light weight, only took 1-2 drinks to get WASTED) and making bad choices. She currently lives in Los Angeles where she works full time as an actor. In the last few years she has guest starred in such shows as Life in Pieces, Crazy Ex Girlfriend, Feud, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, I’m Dying Up Here, Hand of God and many more. She also dances around a lot in spandex on Instagram between auditions. Oh! And she writes. Did I forget to mention that? She loves to write poetry, songs and recently finished writing two pilots.

Artist Statement

My wonderful and feisty Grammy passed away at the beginning of quarantine (unrelated to Covid), so lately I've been sitting with my Poppy and watching whatever he'd like to watch, making whatever he'd like to eat; doing anything possible that would bring him comfort. That includes watching his choice program of Fox News, hence the inspiration for the piece I've submitted to the Rebirth series. In the wake of so much death, I watched newscasters flicker across my screen who were more concerned about the economic state of the country than the physical and mental health of it's citizens - and in that flicker, I saw little teeny babies. The yearn to be reborn and turn back time existed both on my television screen as well as in my own life. Goo goo, ga ga.

Artist Bio

Anna Torzullo is a writer, comedian, and filmmaker based in a slanted apartment in Brooklyn. She received her BA in Visual and Media Arts from Emerson College, where she fostered her love for the silly and absurd. You can find Anna in the back of a Brooklyn bar performing with her best friends, or holed up in her bedroom making clay buddies.

Artist Statement:

This poem is a love letter to all my little deaths and all my resurrections. Each time I surrender, I am reminded that I can be created new, every single day.

Artist Bio

Gabriela Ortega is an actor, writer, voice-over artist, and filmmaker from the Dominican Republic. As a writer and filmmaker, she is an alum of the Sundance Institute Playwright program with her full length play: OUT HERE and the HBO/ Hola Mexico FF fellowship: Tomorrow's filmmaker's Today with her film A Rebellious Act a Day. Her poems have been featured  in NPR’s LatinoUSA and most recently, she was commissioned for the first Latinx Audible Original: Talking While Female co-created by teatro Luna West. She is currently in post-production for her first feature film: MORENITA (@morenitamovie) supported by Women Make Movies.

Artist Statement

Capitulo Metamorphosis translates to a chapter of rebirth. The spoken-word piece speaks on a change of perspective, a deeper look into myself, and the holistic healing practice I've followed over the past two years. It describes the journey of beginning to mend the trauma, confusion, and negativity I've held for so long as well as the knowledge I've gained from the teachers that have pulled me from the muck of the earth when life seemed impossible to comprehend. As someone with PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome), I wanted to tell the story of my journey and the discovery of a healing process - yoni steaming (as illustrated in the cover art of the poem). Yoni Steaming is an older practice used to cater to the yoni and womb. The narrative of rebirth in the poem stems from taking part in this practice and focusing on my mental, physical, and spiritual health. The poem was produced by artist Landon Tate and the cover art illustrated by artist Armani Howard.

Artist Bio

Natasha Estevez is an Afro-Latina Multidisciplinary Artist and Creative Writer who aims to educate through narratives, embodying many forms. Through 'Swallowable Dosages,' a term that epitomizes the making of stories that can be grasped by the masses; She creates avenues for understanding mental health, survival, language and stories of the world she continues to discover since leaving the place she grew up in. Born and raised in Harlem, NY, Natasha tunes into cultural and ancestral history to build her craft. She currently resides in Chicago, IL. When stepping in front of the mic, Natasha transitions into Nasci - her stage name. Nasci’s days at the mic began in 2007 after joining the poetry club in Ps4 Duke Ellington School in Washington Heights, NY.