GirlSpeak Webzine

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Images

GirlSpeak 2008!

Website

Topics

Arts & Culture: Mixed Media, Nonfiction, Poetry
Health: HIV/AIDS
Human Development: Education, Youth
Human Rights: Gender
Information & Media: Communication, Culture, Freedom of Expression, Internet, Knowledge, Media
Politics: Activism

Identity Niches

African American, Gay/Lesbian/Bi/Transgender, Youth/Teen

Budget

Raised to date: $13,000.00
Estimate to complete: $30,000.00
Total Estimated Budget: $43,000.00
The budget numbers above are accurate as of 01/27/2009

Status

Research & Development

Media Type

Web

Project End Use

Internet

Key Personnel

C.C. Carter
Project Director
C.C. Carter is an acclaimed writer and performer with national prominence on the performance poetry scene. As a performance poet she has headlined some of the country’s largest music festivals including the Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival. Ms. Carter has curated events for the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and was the producer of the three cultural events presented at Millennium Park during the Chicago Gay Games. She has been an Arts Administration for the last six years.

Krista Franklin
Workshop Facilitator
Krista Franklin is a poet, visual artist and teacher whose work has most recently appeared in RATTLE, Indiana Review, Ecotone, Clam,
Callaloo, MiPOesias.com, and the anthology Gathering Ground. She has led many women-centered workshops in and around Chicago, most recently Young Chicago Authors’ GirlSpeak program, which mentors and builds
leadership skills in young women around the literary, art and activism. Her collages and poetry are primarily woman-centered, and focus on the
experiences and images of people of color. Her art has appeared on the covers of award-winning books, and she has exhibited nationally in solo
and group exhibitions. She is a Cave Canem Fellow, and the co-founder of 2nd Sun Salon, a community meeting space for writers, visual and
performance artists, musicians and scholars.

Nikki Patin
Mulimedia and Body Image Workshop Leader
Nikki Patin, Project Director has been writing for close to 22 years. She has taught dozens of workshops at various high schools, colleges and universities on performance poetry, body image, sexual assault prevention and LGBT issues. A veteran of the Chicago poetry scene, Nikki was featured on the fourth season of HBO's Def Poetry Jam and designed, published and distributed a book of poems on body image, entitled "Phat Girl".

Funders

Name	Amount	Date
Chicago Foundation for Women	$3,000.00	02/20/2009
The Tyra Banks TZONE Foundation	$10,000.00	12/15/2008

Location

2506 Micheltorena St.
Los Angeles, CA, 90039

See Google Maps

Short Synopsis

Description/Treatment

GirlSpeak is an intensive gender justice program for 50-60 young women ages 13-21 to discuss, study, and write about gender issues such as power, body image, street harassment, gender stereotypes, and positive role models. The program culminates in the publication of the GirlSpeak Webzine (www.girlspeak.org) the program aims to deepen young women’s gender- and feminist-consciousness and to connect young women from around the world.

Young women in the program meet weekly to write articles, create visual art, and interview women in the community for publication in the GirlSpeak Webzine. The participants also curate more than 400 articles, prose, poetry, and visual art from young women from around the world. In 2009, GirlSpeak will launch a Podcast of weekly community discussions to build a worldwide community of young women.

Discussion is a large part of GirlSpeak. Young women take part in in-depth discussions about topics concerning young women such as health care, relationships, gender stereotypes, violence in communities, body image, and self-empowerment. Participants also learn how to critique the media and are able to identify gender stereotypes perpetuated by the media, and brainstorm how gender could be portrayed in more positive way. As a result of these discussions, participants write articles and create visual art about the gender issues explored in the program to be published on the GirlSpeak Webzine. The GirlSpeak Webzine fosters a supportive group of young women from around the world.