International SWAN Day. What is it? International Support Women Artists Now Day, a holiday celebrating the vast work of female writers, directors and creatives around the world. Held on the last Saturday of March, women (and men) gather to support the work of their favorite female artist – past or present – in any event of their choosing.
The 12th anniversary of International SWAN Day will be its biggest and best yet, as Statera Arts takes the reigns from from WomenArts, where the holiday originated from co-founder Martha Richards and FF2 Media founder Jan Lisa Huttner.
At this month’s Statera Conference, International SWAN Day organizers from the United States East Coast, Midwest, West Coast in addition to women from Canada, Prague and Kenya gathered at the Broadway Theater Center in Milwaukee to discuss the importance of the women-centered holiday and the goals for future events.
Whether its purchasing a movie ticket to see a film by a woman writer and/or director (like FF2 Media accomplishes each week) or seeing a play by a woman playwright, anyone and everyone can celebrate International SWAN Day on Saturday, March 30, 2019.
It could be purchasing your favorite book by a female author (or checking it out at your local library and spreading the word). It could be blasting your favorite song you purchased on iTunes from your favorite singer/songwriter.
These simple, grassroots efforts make International SWAN Day possible. How will you participate?
From StateraArts “Ways to Participate:”
- Organize Arts Events for SWAN Day – There have been over 1,1900 SWAN Day events in 36 countries in the past 11 years. Join the fun by organizing an event in your community! Remember to use the official SWAN Day Logo (above) in your publicity materials. Your event can be a performance, exhibit, rally, parade, workshop, or any other activity that draws attention to women artists or raises money for women artists in your community. If you have questions, please feel free to contact us.
- Host a SWAN Day Party – Gather friends at your house to talk about ways that you might help the women artists in your community. Invite local artists to speak at the party. Screen films written and directed by women to show at your party. Ask everyone to contribute some amount of money and then make a group decision about which artist/s you want to support.
- Introduce Students to Women Artists in the US & Elsewhere – If you are a teacher and would like to introduce your students to women artists, please contact us. We are especially interested in organizing some international pen-pal or exchange programs.
- Donate to Your Favorite Women Artists – If you love seeing the work of a particular woman artist, send her a check on SWAN Day to help her make more art.
- Start Wearing SWAN Shirts, Jewelry and Other Items – You can show your support by wearing shirts, jewelry and other items featuring swans. When anyone asks you, tell them you are wearing swans because you want to see more art reflecting women’s perspectives. These casual conversations are a great way to make people more aware of the discrimination faced by women artists. We have SWAN shirts, hats, and mugs available in the SWAN Store at: www.cafepress.com/womenarts.
To help organize your event, you can download StateraArts and WomenArts’ Publicity Tools and Fundraising Tools and you can download the official SWAN Day logo.
To read more about International SWAN Day and the already-planned events for March 2019, visit the StateraArts website.
© Brigid K. Presecky (10/09/18) FF2 Media
Featured photo: SWAN Day Connecticut (Read more HERE).
