Last Updated on April 9, 2021
Organized by students enrolled in the Public Practice MFA program at Otis College of Art and Design, FEMINISM 4D explores ideas around contemporary feminist aesthetics through conversations on food, self-care, language, and the future.
In addition to presentations that will challenge the form a symposium can take in a feminist context, participants will also be able to engage with a data collection installation and take home materials to continue the conversation. Subjects of photography will be covered in depth as well.
SCHEDULE
1–1:30 pm: Welcome and Entrance Poll, hosted by Mark Farina
The Entrance Poll will greet participants with a simple ballot and information about the Symposium. Results will be revealed at the end in a colorful and informational fashion.
1:10–1:30 pm: Defining Feminist Terms, hosted by Lauren Vazquez
Defining Feminist Terms will be a quick, collective session of naming and defining photography terms that are commonly used when referring to, speaking about, reading, etc. feminist ideas and theory. Lauren will ask members of the audience to name and collectively define terms while she writes them down on large sheets of paper. This will give participants a general knowledge of the terms we will be using throughout the symposium.
1:30–1:35 pm: Break
1:35–2:35 pm: FOOD, FRIENDS and FEMINISM, hosted by Anna Ayeroff and Xochi Maberry- Gaulke
FOOD, FRIENDS, and FEMINISM will be a performed conversation weaving storytelling, eating and performance into an intergenerational conversation about health, culture, and self care through food. How can our intersecting approaches to taking care of our friends, families, communities, and our bodies define feminism in new ways?
2:35–2:40 pm: Break
2:40–3:25 pm: The Century of Women, hosted by Celia Rocha
The Century of Women will feature Kristi Golden, a Soka Gakkai International women’s division leader, expounding on philosopher Daisaku Ikeda’s vision for the 21st century, a period Ikeda famously declared as the century of women.
3:25–3:30 pm: Break
3:30–4:15 pm: #Faux-feminism, Womanism and Global Feminism, hosted by April Bey
How has social media perpetuated stagnant “movements” and the false sense of accomplishment by the privileged and elite via sharable and relatable memes? Will the concept of intersectionality within the feminist movement actually be practiced? How are figures like Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Beyoncé relevant and essential in the movement? Are Western feminists doing enough for global issues affecting women internationally?
4:15–4:30 pm: Wrap Up, Poll Results, and Take Away:
Letter Takeaway will be located on a table by the museum’s entrance. 50 premade packages will include the Symposium’s official pencil, a card with feminist definitions from the Defining Feminist Terms session, recipe cards from the FOOD, FRIENDS AND FEMINISM session, a blank letter page for audience participation, other miscellaneous handouts produced by the Symposium’s various sessions, and an official Symposium envelope to consolidate contents. The table will also include extras of all handouts.
Symposium guests are invited to write a letter, to themselves or someone else, about the ideas or information that most resonated with them from the Symposium. The letters may be sent to the Symposium hosts to be anonymously posted in an online forum.
About FEMINISM 4DTaught by artist Micol Hebron, FEMINISM 4D is a seminar offered through the Public Practice MFA program at Otis College of Art and Design.