W.A.R. in Paris
W.A.R. takes the stage at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris. Merren Ricketson showing a copy of "Leaving Your Legacy" as part of the NEST meeting in November.
Caroline Phillips co-chairing NEST event in Paris.
Report from our committee member, Merren Ricketson, who attended the event:
W.A.R 's involvement in NEST: Network for Empowerment, Solidarity and Transregionality started in November 2023 when we received a very exciting email from AWARE: Archives of Women Artists Research and Exhibitions, in Paris. They invited W.A.R. to join an international, online conversation with “non-profit organisations and independent structures across the world, seeking to amplify the voices of women and non-binary artists in contemporary art and art history to unite forces and explore alternative methods of creating and disseminating knowledge, rethinking art through a feminist lens“. All this, and a proposal to meet face to face in Paris a year later.
Caroline Phillips and I represented the Register at online meetings for over 6 months, joining women from Algeria, Lebanon, Poland, Spain, India, Los Angeles, France, Mexico, Uganda, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Estonia, Hong Kong, Zimbabwe, Slovenia, San Francisco, Canada, Ireland the UK, New York and the group AFSAR, an Asian Feminist Studio whose members live in different locations.
We shared ideas, collections, and the various social, political and gender-based challenges we all face. Scroll down on this link for further links to each organisation - they’re really worth a look! https://awarewomenartists.com/en/reseaux/nest-network-for-empowerment-solidarity-and-transregionality/
We were split into two groups. Our stream looked at Feminist Archival practices and transmission, and presented case studies to illuminate and explore our various working practices and projects. The other group looked at Feminist methodologies and ways of working. Of course there were many overlaps.
The online contact culminated in a face-to-face meeting in Paris on the 6, 7, And 8 November. Caroline came from Spain, where she now lives, and I travelled from Melbourne.
It was so wonderful to meet people in the flesh at last at the first evening’s cocktail party.Lively conversation and energy filled the light filled, book lined room on the top floor of AWARE’S beautiful Paris offices, housed in Villa Vassilieff, a leafy alleyway full of artist studios and gallery spaces hidden behind the vines and autumn foliage .
Approximately 60 of us met at AWARE at 10 am the next morning. AWARE’s founder, Camille Morineau welcomed guests, as did Carolina Hermandez and Nina Volz, who coordinated the project. Then the ground rules were set: you could only speak for 3 minutes and this was timed. A single question: ' How are you feeling this morning - would anyone like to reflect on this coming together ?’ prompted intense discussions for the next 7 hours. (A more detailed report of the discussions held will be available on our website in the coming months.)
The following afternoon we met at the majestic Palais de Tokyo for the public part of the conference. A story named Joy included presentations from each group, who again only had 3 minutes to address a specific topic, assigned by the organisers, which reflected our organisations’ work and history Caroline co-chaired the session for our group and I addressed “Our experience, from the 1970s to today, in creating pedagogical tools using the archive to build a more inclusive educational system, and support professional practice strategies for artists, educators, and art & museum industry professionals.” using the ‘Can’t see for lookin -12 Koorie Women Artists Educating resource kit, and the 'Leaving your Legacy ‘ workbook, projects Caroline and I had initiated 30 years apart.
This was followed by a moving keynote address by Vietnamese filmmaker, writer, literary theorist, professor and composer Trinh T. Minh-ha, and a performance piece directed by French-Gabonese artists Myriam Miindou Mihindou, in conjunction with her exhibition at the venue “Praesentia’. Mihindou was the 2022 AWARE Prize recipient.
The relationships developed will be on-going and significant. After the talk, a number of people got in touch with Caroline about sharing the information in the Legacy Project so that they can work on developing a similar workbook, aligned with the taxation, legal, copyright and estate planning regulations in their own country. Martha Kazungu from the Njubala Foundation in Uganda has contacted W.A.R. about a joint program being offered by the Australian Embassy in Kenya and a fundraising initiative and we are having an online meeting in mid-January with Allessia Cargnelli, another conference guest, who is starting a research case study for the first feminist/community-led art resource in Ireland. Watch this space!
The project was made possible through support from the Terra Foundation for American Art.