Join POWarts for a two-part series this summer as we tackle issues of representation, visibility, and criticism in the arts. These panel discussions will raise essential questions about feminism and diversity in the arts, providing a framework for all industry professionals to better address and understand these issues.

Art has always been a privileged site for feminist activism and creativity, and yet female-identified artists and writers remain beleaguered by sexism. How can writers, curators, gallerists, and cultural producers help address this paradox? How can we amplify the voices of female artists, critics, and cultural producers without reaffirming sexist stereotypes? 

This discussion of feminist writing and criticism features Laia Garcia, deputy editor at Lenny; Jasmin Hernandez, independent arts writer and founder of Gallery Gurls; Wendy Vogel, independent writer and curator and former editor at Flash Art International and Modern Painters; and Julia Wolkoff, assistant editor at Art in America. The conversation will explore possibilities for amplifying the voices of female-identified cultural agents. 

This series is moderated by William J. Simmons, a feminist art critic, lecturer in art history at the City College of New York, and Mellon Foundation Fellow in Women's History at the New-York Historical Society. 

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Jasmin Hernandez is a native New Yorker with a deep passion for visual culture and a rich background in fashion, photo shoot production, and arts writing. Ms. Hernandez's editorial career started at Vanity Fair as a fashion assistant, and continued as a photo editor and producer for outlets such as The New York Times Magazine, New York Magazine, American Media, and The New York Post. As a savvy event producer she has spearheaded shows and presentations for NYFW, in addition to special events for cultural clients such as Visionaire and MoMA/PS1. Her writing on art & culture has been published in Elle, CULTURED, Vice, and Konbini.  Ms. Hernandez is the founder of Gallery Gurls, profiling female artists and women in the arts working in New York City and beyond. 

Laia Garcia is the deputy editor at Lenny. Born and raised in Puerto Rico, she now lives in Brooklyn with her cat. 

Julia Wolkoff is Assistant Editor at Art in America. She has reviewed artists such as Leslie Hewitt, Heidi Hahn, Tauba Auerbach, and Jordan Kasey for the magazine and has covered exhibitions and museum openings in the United States, Europe, and Asia for the magazine’s website. In addition, she has contributed essays to the catalogues for exhibitions including “Lucid Gestures” (2015), at the Louise McCagg Gallery, New York, and Joan Snitzer’s “Compositions” (2014), at A.I.R. Gallery, Brooklyn. At the 2016 Frieze Art Fair, New York, she moderated a talk on comics in America. 

Wendy Vogel is an independent curator and critic based in Brooklyn, New York. Her research interests include legacies of feminist and identity-based practice, as well as the performative and ethical questions around contemporary art production and criticism. A former editor at Flash Art International, Modern Painters and Art in America, she has contributed to Artforum.com, Art Review, BOMB, Kaleidoscope, and The New York Times, among other publications. In collaboration with the artist Peter Halley, she edited a history of the New York­–based index magazine (index A to Z: art, design, fashion, film and music in the indie era), published by Rizzoli in 2014. She has organized or co-organized numerous curatorial projects at venues across New York and internationally. In March 2017, she organized "Your Body Is A Battleground," the second edition of VOLTA NY’s Curated Section.

The first event of the Summer Series kicks off on Wednesday at 7pm with mingling and a wine reception followed by the panel discussion from 7.30 to 9pm, generously hosted by Pen + Brush.

For over 122 years, Pen + Brush has been the only international nonprofit organization offering an outlet for women in both the literary and visual arts in the city of New York. Pen + Brush provides a platform to showcase the work of excellent female artists and writers to a broader audience with the ultimate goal of effecting real change within the marketplace.