YELLOW SPRINGS — This month, Antioch College in Yellow Springs is collaborating with an Argentenian arts group to produce a virtual arts residency addressing domestic violence. The month of February is devoted to a virtual international arts exchange titled Her Voice Rises, which includes events and programs highlighting international efforts to end violence against women.
The residency builds upon a “multi-year transnational partnership” between Antioch College and Mujeres de Artes Tomar (MAT) in Buenos Aires, Argentina, the college said Monday. Mujeres de Artes Tomar, translated as Women Taking up Art in Spanish, is a performing arts troupe that links everyday women to a blend of art and activism. MAT’s street performances over the past decade have been at the forefront of a surge of feminist activism in Argentina.
Three members of MAT, Leticia Torre, Lucía Snieg and Claudia Quiroga, will be part of a collaborative exchange spearheaded by Luisa Bieri, associate professor of Cooperative Education, who also teaches performance at Antioch. Bieri’s work has led an ongoing exchange of ideas, simultaneous art actions, and students mentored by MAT through the Cooperative Education program.
Public events in the series include an artist talk on Thursday, Feb. 11, at 7 p.m. During the artist talk, members of MAT will highlight recent actions in Argentina and invite dialogue on their strategies and international movement building. Antioch alumna, Hannah Priscilla Craig ‘17 joined MAT for a cultural immersion cooperative education fellowship in 2016, and will be part of the forum. In addition, Dawn Knickerbocker, founder of W.A.R.N. (Women of All Red Nations) Ohio, will share intersections with the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) movement here in North America.
Secondly, the world premiere performance of “Instructions for HOLDing Up” (in Spanish, instrucciones de SOStén) is free and open to the public, Saturday, Feb. 13, 2021 at 7 p.m. A poetic and theatrical performance, this work emerged during MAT’s experience with the obligatory social isolation of the coronavirus pandemic. They have worked to maintain continuity via Zoom, and continue to collectivize their knowledge and carry out artivist actions virtually. Quiroga and Torres will be presenting.
Both events are free, open to the public, and held via Zoom. More information and registration are online at antiochcollege.edu/her-voice-rises.
MAT, founded by Quiroga and Sandra Posadino in 2011, began developing a hybrid of performance and protest aimed to empower women in Buenos Aires. MAT has been part of substantial feminist movements in Argentina, including Ni Una Menos (Not One Less) an international movement against femicides, and the country’s national women’s strikes and recent efforts for reproductive rights legislation.