Mission
A women's magazine cannot deny its feminist responsibility. We chose the name "artsy" as a way of turning the negative into a positive. The use of this tongue-in-cheek term stems from the misconception that women's art is "artsy and craftsy." Historically, women have rarely been included in the art world. In recent years, there has been a progressive increase in the numbers of successful female artists. However, we feel there is still a large disparity between female and male artists. Women are still contending with a glass ceiling that ensures that there are fewer recognized women "masters" and fewer women making a living from their art.

Artsy hopes that this magazine will disprove the notion that female artwork is frivolous. We highlight a diversity of art practices and try to challenge any preconceptions of what women's work should be. We select the art without giving preference to subjects or mediums, but instead choose work we feel is strong and makes its own statement. Our intention is to add to the vital dialogue of female artists seeking inspiration and community. Artsy is the result of thought, talent, and resources shared by a collective of women. So read it, give us feedback, pass it along to an "artsy" friend and go create!

Collective
Artsy is magazine that promotes emerging and established women artists and writers, and anyone can help. If you would like to join or learn how to help, please email us at artsymag@yahoo.com.

Background
Started in the spring of 2001, Artsy comes in three forms: a print publication, a web site and an editorial collective of female artists led by co-founders Jasmine Trabelsi, Julia Laricheva and Jenni Bachman. The gutsy new approach of featuring women's art from a feminist perspective speaks to the need for relentless female-affirmation in an age of Maxim, where women have been reduced once again to the sum of their parts.
"Women are represented all the time in the media," notes Laricheva, "but as fake ideals and objects. Artsy makes a point of choosing work that is not lightweight, or superficial. We are interested in the theory, political motivation and the experimentation of materials."

Critics may say that there is no imbalance, or that the number of female artists is rising, so why the need for a fine arts and literary publication featuring just women?

* Until 1987, the textbook used in most American college and university art history courses listed no women artists.

* Presently, women artists comprise only 7 percent of all artists in textbooks used in the United States.

* Looking at the earnings of men and women painters in well-known galleries, work by men and women of comparable age and exhibition records show disparities in market value disappointingly similar to those we find in other fields where men and women compete.

* In California, women with a college education are the most supportive of the arts.

By using a model of a collectively run publication, Artsy unites a variety of perspectives and voices targeting women artists at the start of their struggle to become recognized.

"We want to be a sustainable resource for women who are looking for a community where they can share support, inspiration and confidence", explains Trabelsi. "Our mailing list is a way for readers to promote each other as well as themselves. We put all submissions on the continuously updated website, artsymag.com, so that even if an artist does not make it into print, she still has a means of promoting herself. We are targeting women who are unknown or simply scratching the surface in terms of exposure."

Michael Manekin, a writer for The Pioneer Valley Advocate (an alternative New England weekly), "[Artsy] shines with bold color combination and imaginative layout...it wouldn't seem out of place in a chic Chelsea gallery-stacked proudly adjacent to the contemporary art bible Artforum."

About Artsy Magazine
Funded entirely by grants, Artsy originated as Trabelsi's senior thesis at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and has flourished. The first issue featured a diverse array of work in sculpture, painting, installation, cartoon, graffiti, film and photography by eleven emerging artists. Artsy included American, Latino, German, Korean and Italian artists that ranged from young artists fresh from out of MFA programs to more established artists.

Artsy's list of subscribers keeps growing, and artsymag.com reaches over 60,000 visitors per month, proving the efficacy of Internet activism—with style.

"Awareness is the key to social change," says Bachman. "Artsy is not interested in pushing any particular brand of politics—it's not about excluding anyone. By raising the consciousness of women in the arts, we're giving voices a chance to be heard. This is what feminism is supposed to be about."