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."
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