Display Features Female Artists

The Women's Resource Center (WRC) hosted A Room of Our Own (AROOO), an art show for female artists to display their works this Tuesday in the Cabaret Room.
"The idea of it is to provide a space for women artists to come together and showcase their talents," said Helida Silva, point person for the project and A&S '10.

Every year, the WRC hosts one AROOO event per semester, and the artists are allowed to showcase "basically anything you consider art," Silva said.

Five students showcased their visual art and 10 read poems, danced, or sang. After the 10 students performed, all students were invited to share their work at an open mic.
All Boston College female artists were invited to showcase their art in the event. To promote the event, the WRC put up fliers, advertised it in their weekly newsletter and put information for the event on listservs.

In addition, they e-mailed English professors to see if they had any students who were interested in reading their work. Artists could continue to submit their work up until the day of AROOO.

The venue of the event changes frequently, Silva said, and with it, the number of women who can get involved changes.

"It depends how much space we have for the audience, and then we take it from there and focus on how many artists we can fit," Silva said.

In addition, the venue determines the feel of the event.

 "Last fall we did it in the French Press, which was really small, so it had a cozy kind of feel," she said. "Then, in the spring, it was in Gasson 100, which is a huge room."
Silva got involved in AROOO because of her interest in art after becoming a staff member of the WRC last year. Last year, she was second in command and learned how to arrange the event.

This year, as point person, she had to handle logistics, such as finding the venue and coordinating the artists. Other WRC staff members had the opportunity to give Silva their input at the weekly meetings.

"I love arts, that's basically the crux of it," Silva said. "I'm not a studio art major but I would consider it a hobby of mine. It's a media through which you can express yourself."
The mission of the WRC is to provide an outlet for women's empowerment, and this event goes along with that mission, said Jackie Draper, WRC staff member and A&S '11.

"I feel like it's a nice little showcase for the women of BC," she said.

Courtney Allessio, A&S '11, showcased her visual art. "I'm always supportive when BC does something with the arts, because it's rare," Allessio said. "I wish something would happen every week, not necessarily with women but with the arts. I'm really happy that this happened. It was short but meaningful."

Next semester, AROOO will coincide with the launch of the WRC's literary magazine, The Laughing Medusa.

Caitlin Lahsaiezadeh, A&S '13, read her work "A Snapshot" and is involved with The Laughing Medusa, which is how she found out about AROOO.

"I was going to Stylus meetings, but I was looking for a smaller setting for a literary magazine," she said.

Emily Simone, CSOM '12, attended the event to support her friend who was showcasing visual art.

"I think it's important to support women in the arts at BC," she said. "It's interesting to see the influences and women at BC's interpretations."