I’m So Here For It: a Coming-of-Age Tale about Joining Art + Feminism
I’m McKensie, the new Program Coordinator at Art + Feminism and resident Southern belle and intergalactic, black girl. I was born in Chicago and welcomed into the world by a family of butter aficionados. I’m a writer, performer, consultant and strategist with a penchant for Baldwin and high-class meme curation. When I’m not producing content about politics, pop culture, and race, I’m developing anti-oppressive strategies for dismantling systems of disempowerment in cultural institutions. I enjoy twirling in my living room, hosting shows about fun, and dabbing to 90s R & B. I’m also a sucker for homemade pie that’s just like my Nana used to make. So what brought me here to Art + Feminism?
I’m here because I believe in women and their power. I’m here because who writes and edits our histories as marginalized people makes a difference in how we perceive the world, how the world perceives us, and how we perceive ourselves. Access to knowledge is power, but if that knowledge is skewed by a view that says that we don’t matter- how can it be useful to us? How it can it empower us to be heard?
Since 2014, Art + Feminism has gathered women to more than 280 events across 6 continents and has improved thousands of Wikipedia pages. Did you know that in 2011 a survey conducted by the Wikimedia Foundation found that just 8.5% of editors on the platform were women? Art +Feminism seeks to amplify that number by welcoming cis-women, trans-women, femmes, queer women, and women of color to claim space for themselves in the writing and editing of histories and stories, not unlike their own. This year, I proclaim the theme of my work with Art+Feminism to be 'Claiming Space'. My 2017 is going to be all about empowering women to lay claim to their voice through writing, editing, and non-apology. AND I’M SO HERE FOR IT. #goodbyehaters
Want to learn more about becoming a friend or ally to the organization or interested in organizing an event where you live? Email me at [email protected] so we can kiki over sweet treats and make plans to take over the world - one edit a time.
Yours in solidarity, tacos and trap music,
McKensie
p.s. you can find me on Twitter @mckensiemack
