About Women’s History Month

Throughout history, women have systematically been excluded making them invisible and stereotyped. Although we have managed to change the scenario positively, there is still a lot of work to be done.

In the art world, an artwork is not only validated on its own but also of the artist’s career, which creates a huge disadvantage for women artists who didn’t get the same opportunities as their male counterparts. Even the little representation of women in the history of art has been linked to the love relationship that women artists had with renowned male artists such as Dora Maar (with Pablo Picasso) and Frida Kahlo (with Diego Rivera). On the other hand, women artists have been stereotyped with negative clichés, such as highlighting the hysteria and madness in their lives. In addition, certain techniques such as textiles have been labeled as "feminine art", linking it with crafts and decoration, not only underestimating the artist’s intellect but also belittling the technique as a manual practice that is not high end art. If we talk about Latin American women artists, the problem is exacerbated because racial and ethnic prejudices are also added layers.

Fortunately, in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia March is decreed as Women's History Month. It corresponds to March 8, International Women's Day, and it highlights, studies, and commemorates the vital contributions of women throughout history.

Many organizations, companies, libraries, media, museums and galleries join the celebration, developing curatorial projects, exhibitions, publications, educational resources, talks, seminars and events. For example, there are institutions that focus on issues such as equal rights and suffrage or the important role that women have played in wars. Others address the cultural, academic, and activist contributions of today's women who have had a great impact not only in their countries but also in other parts of the world.

There are countless legacies that the women of the past left the world, but perhaps the most significant and transcendental are the autonomy and determination to be and do what they choose. Small and large actions can be revolutionary and lay new foundations for the women who will come after us in any field, in terms of business, social, economic, political, governmental, professional, artistic affairs, etc. If we look around us, we can see this happening everywhere.

This is the case of Tessa Velázquez, a successful businesswoman, entrepreneur, and leader. Proud of her Latin roots and an avid art lover, Tessa runs several businesses and projects, among them is Baked & Wired, a bakery that produces small-batch baked goods prepared with family recipes and artisan coffee from roasters across the country. It is also a space with a social and cultural purpose. In the heart of Georgetown, the place stands out for being a place that offers a wonderful gastronomic experience, all the while supporting and spreading the career of local artists.

You may have heard that "in unity there is strength". Partnering to do what we love and send our message of women empowerment is necessary and dignifying. For this reason, Baked and Wired joins Arte Original, a Latin American art gallery - also managed and directed by a art loving businesswoman - to expand its radius of action by disseminating the work of Latin American artists and elevating the gastronomic experience and cultural repertoire that it offers.

To celebrate Women's History Month, this March both companies have decided to carry out an exhibition that will only show works of art by Latin American women artists. The exhibition will have wonderful works in various formats, techniques, languages, and discourses. We will see more abstract, figurative, and realistic works, but all of them with a common context: they were made by creative women from Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, and Venezuela. Women who, from their personal place, have managed not only to find their own voice and uniqueness through artistic creation, but also to work on their passion, achieve success and cultural and institutional recognition, and have their works shown and marketed internationally.

Belkis Granada (1) and Yudy Márquez develop works with codes and shapes typical of naive art: many color contrasts, defined contours, lack of perspective and great expressive power as is recognizable in popular Latin American aesthetics. The dynamic work of Rosa Salazar is interested in representing the movement and spirit of certain animals that are in her affective memories.

Manuela Armand develops a pictorial investigation on the memory and the ephemeral and fleeting perception of landscapes. Graciela Zúñiga makes a kind of abstract, lyrical, spontaneous, and emotional representation of the territories we inhabit, illustrating all of them and none in particular. Ana Vanessa Urvina (3) expresses herself through her small gardens that refer to chromatic luminosity, the exuberance and abundance of tropical nature.

Paula Dunner (2) explores the possibilities of abstraction while creating scenarios inspired by biology and the infinite forms of the living world.

Belén Larroulet (4) composes in painting with the same creative processes with which she composes musical pieces: playful, rhythmic, and spontaneously.

In case it's still not clear, there is a greater purpose - intentionally or not - behind everything these women do. Fortunately, we live in a world different from that of past centuries and women can participate actively and freely as creators. Creators of dreams and also feats. Of struggles and victories. To be a woman is to be more than the muse of the artist: it is to be inspiration and action.

Telling stories like Tessa's or admiring the work of a great artist and knowing her name helps to lay a solid foundation for the women of the future. Historically they have been invisible, limited. Commemorating March as Women’s History Month allows us to recognize the struggle they gave in the past that brought us here, understand the context we are facing and forge the future.

*The exhibition of Arte Original works will take place from March 7th to April 13th on Baked and Wired: 1052 Thomas Jefferson St NW, Washington, DC 20007, United States.

Arte Original.

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