Culture in brief: symposium on women innovators in the arts

They write: "Too often, those who refer to themselves as cultural warriors or workers do not openly admit that the performing arts fields are fraught with the same gender discrimination / homophobia / misogyny / racism / sexism that is a reflection of our larger society. These external circumstances impact the creativity of women, as do the internal forces author Claire Messud identifies (in The New York Times Magazine, August 10, 2017) as “worthy of the most serious examination.” This discourse is directly related to questions of who is invisible and why; whose art gets produced / heard / seen; how artists make their own opportunities instead of waiting for the telephone call that will make them feel accepted / validated / welcomed at someone else’s table. As Messud declares, women’s interior conversations have validity – whether the voices inside our heads and hearts represent the discourse of sacrifice / service / surrender / self-censorship – or, of anger / appetite / ambition."