2019 Conference Art & Films

Breaking Free Art Exhibit, 3^rd Floor, Pyle Center, April 12-13
Founded in 1996 by Vednita Carter, Breaking Free is a social justice/social change non-profit. Every year, Breaking Free helps hundreds of women and girls escape systems of prostitution and sexual exploitation through direct services. More than an organization facing an issue, this Minneapolis and St. Paul-based group directly serves the people who have been impacted by trafficking and prostitution through advocacy, housing, education and immediate action. This includes addressing the demand side through Men Breaking Free. Since its inception, Breaking Free has assisted over 200 women annually escape systems of prostitution and sexual exploitation through advocacy, direct services, housing, and education. Plaster masks, created by Breaking Free survivors, are on display to symbolize the past and future of women who have experienced trafficking or prostitution. The artists used their own faces as a mold for the masks, and then painted each one to symbolize some aspect of their survival and hope for the future. Each display includes a statement about how prostitution and trafficking harm those in it, negatively impact women and girls as a group, distort gender relations, and hinder gender equity. The masks will be on display throughout the duration of the conference, and the artists will periodically be on hand to answer questions and describe their work to participants. They will also participate in plenary on Saturday, April 13 from 1:45-3:00 in the Pyle Center Alumni Lounge to describe their work and other aspects of Breaking Free.

Wisconsin Women Making History, digital exhibit, AT&T Lounge, April 12-13, 9:00-5:00
Wisconsin Women Making History is a growing digital resource that provides students and lifetime learners an online destination to find remarkable women who have contributed to Wisconsin’s state legacy. Wisconsin women have historically stepped into leadership roles, worked to improve their communities, and innovated in science, the arts, business and governance. Through multimedia and biographies, the website brings to life the stories of women and girls often overlooked in Wisconsin history. Educators will find resources to incorporate the site into their classrooms and lifetime learners will find ways to get their communities involved. Wisconsin Women Making History is a partnership of the Wisconsin Historical Society, Wisconsin Humanities Council, Wisconsin Public Television, Wisconsin Media Lab, The Wisconsin Women’s and Gender Studies Consortium, and the University of Wisconsin Women’s and Gender Studies Librarian.

Women’s Historical Writings Exhibit, Pyle Center, 3rd Floor, April 12-13, 2019
The Gender and Women’s Studies Library offers a collection of historical monographs and serials featuring writings by women of color, and materials from campuses across the UW System. This broad selection features the following titles (and many others) and is open for browsing throughout the conference:

• Our bodies, Our Selves
• A 1975 Equal Rights Lecture Series on the campus of UW-Stevens Point
• The Chicana Feminist
• Wisconsin Activist
• Teaching Women’s History by Gerda Lerner
• Off Our Backs
• Poetry Collections of Maya Angelou

Dehydrated Flowers by Xiaoyue Pu, 2nd Floor, Pyle Center, April 13, 9:00-5:00
As feminism empowers many women today, individual toughness and concealment of personal emotion are overly encouraged. Female vulnerability becomes repressed and is perceived as a sign of weakness. The artist argues that people should embrace the completeness of human nature. Rejecting vulnerability during feminism practice denies the completeness of women, which defies feminism itself. Dehydrated Flowers is the artist’s reaction to the film Flirting With Danger by social and developmental psychologist Lynn Phillips. By focusing on the beauty of dehydration, the artist continues to explore her thoughts on the positive link between vulnerability and feminism.

New Author Book Reception, Friday, April 12, 2:45-3:45, Pyle Center Lee Lounge
Please join us as we celebrate the publication of new books by conference attendees and Gender and Women’s Studies faculty. This meet and greet is a great opportunity to learn more about the latest research coming out of a diverse range of fields. Authors will be on hand to sign copies and answer questions. A Room of One’s Own will have books available for purchase.

Check out more Art in the Market-Place throughout Friday and Saturday

Our vendor room will have informational tables about organizations and projects of interest to our participants, and A Room of Ones Own Feminist Bookstore selling books during listed hours.  Here are some of the vendors that feature the arts: