Asia | Japan | Arts

At 101 Years Old, Japan’s First Female Photojournalist Still Loves Taking Photos

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As a 25 year old, Tokyo born Tsuneko Sasamoto, made the decision to become a professional photographer. World War II was just getting underway and, in Japan, it was mostly unheard of for a woman to choose a career over a husband. That didn’t stop the young Sasamoto–she had been shooting since her early twenty’s, documenting pre-war life, and had become incredibly passionate about her work. Her determination helped her become on of Japan’s very first female photojournalists, documenting the turmoil of the World War II era. Now, decades later, Sasamoto is still doing what she loves at
North America | United States | Arts

The Goodman Theatre Announces First All-Female Playwrights Unit

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Chicago's Goodman Theatre has announced that its sixth playwrights unit will be made up entirely of female playwrights. The Chicago writers participating in the 2015-16 program are Kristiana Rae Colón, Sandra Delgado, Jenni Lamb and Calamity West. The Unit is a year-long residency designed to nurture new work. The writers attend bi-monthly meetings with the Goodman's artistic team, culminating with public staged readings of their completed works. The Goodman's decision in selecting all female playwrights is particularly important in light of recent statistics showing that only o
North America | United States | Arts

Nicki Minaj Wins Best Female Hip-Hop Artist at the 2015 BET Awards

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In maybe the least-surprising event at tonight’s 2015 BET Awards, Nicki Minaj snagged the honor of Best Female Hip-Hop Artist for the sixth straight year. But this year’s victory was different in one significant way, breaking a tie with Missy Elliott to make Nicki the female rapper who has won the award more than anyone else; Missy follows with five victories, while Eve, Remy Ma and M.I.A. are the only other MCs to take home the honor with one victory apiece.
North America | United States | Arts

Misty Copeland named first black female principal dancer by Ballet Theater

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Misty Copeland was fast becoming the most famous ballerina in the United States — making the cover of Time magazine, being profiled by “60 Minutes,” growing into a social media sensation and dancing ballet’s biggest roles on some of its grandest stages. But another role eluded her: She was still not a principal dancer. Until Tuesday, when Ms. Copeland became the first African-American woman to be named a principal in the 75-year history of American Ballet Theater.
North America | United States | Arts

Women totally owned the Tonys this year

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Last night’s Tony Awards, the prestigious celebration of the best of the stage, had one major recurring theme: The ladies dominated. Major awards went to a whole slate of women who worked on some of the year’s most celebrated productions, including Fun Home and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime. It was an amazing moment of recognition for women in theater, and underlined the strength of women in the arts after the disappointingly male-dominated Oscars.
Europe | U.K. | Arts

Nominees for the 2015 Turner Prize Include Three Women Artists and a Housing Project

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The shortlist for the 2015 Turner Prize is out, and it includes three women and a housing collective: Bonnie Camplin, Janice Kerbel, Nicole Wermers, and the 18-person strong design and architecture collective Assemble. The four nominations show a clear tendency towards giving recognition to socially and politically-engaged art, as the Guardian points out. The nomination of London-based collective Assemble, who is credited for reviving a housing project in a derelict area of Liverpool, sets a precedence in the history of the Turner Prize.
North America | United States | Activism

Geena Davis launches Arkansas film fest for women

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With help from a slew of corporate sponsors, Geena Davis and filmmakers focused on women and diversity have taken over Bentonville, Arkansas, a city of 40,000 best known as Wal-Mart’s home base. While it’s not the first film festival to specialize in diversity, Davis said it’s the only film competition to promise theatrical releases for winning entries. “It’s unheard of in the world, actually,” the Oscar-winner said in a telephone interview before opening the festival Tuesday. “It’s the only festival offering distribution across theatrical, digital and on TV and on DVD. �
Europe | Great Britain | Activism

Hundreds of successful women from the arts inspire the next generation

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Two hundred of the most successful women in the arts in the UK gathered in the Tate Modern on Thursday in a bid to inspire the next generation of artists, writers, directors and editors. Figures as diverse as author Kate Mosse and actors Jessica Raine and Helen George from Call the Midwife, to Katie Leung of Harry Potter fame and entrepreneur and Dragon’s Den dragon Kelly Hoppen all gathered in Tate Modern’s cavernous Turbine Hall to meet and speak with 800 schoolgirls from 15 comprehensive schools. It was an event spearheaded by Miriam González Durántez’s Inspiring Women campaig
Asia | China | Arts

M.PATMOS Wins 2015 Women’s International Woolmark Prize (IWP)

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Marcia Patmos, designer of M.PATMOS was announced the winner of the 2015 Women’s International Woolmark Prize (IWP), during the award’s event. After a global search, reaching across 21 countries and involving more than 60 designers, M.PATMOS competed against four other selected design talents from around the world during an intense judging session: V Major from China, STRATEAS.CARLUCCI from Australia, AUGUSTIN TABOUL fromGermany and Bird on a Wire from Lebanon. The winner receives a financial contribution of AU$100,000 (US$76,366) and the opportunity to be stocked in the most importa
Europe | Netherlands | Arts

For Michaela DePrince, a Dream Comes True at the Dutch National Ballet

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Michaela DePrince was appearing here in the third act of Balanchine’s “Jewels” with the Dutch National Ballet on a recent evening. There were about a dozen ballerinas in bejeweled white tutus arrayed across the stage, and there she was all the way stage right in the front line. This 20-year-old American ballerina, who joined the Dutch National Ballet’s main company in August, is in some respects the equivalent of a chorus girl in a Broadway musical. But night after night, people show up just to see her dance. Ms. DePrince, who was an orphan in war-torn Sierra Leone and became a profe
Africa | Ghana | Arts

In Ghana, movies project fierce female leads

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Ghanaian filmmaker Shirley Frimpong-Manso was on an international flight when she struck up a conversation with the passenger beside her. The man asked “Why is it that every time you watch an African movie, you see a woman crying?” For Frimpong-Manso, the question struck a nerve. Growing up in Accra, the capital of Ghana, she was always bothered by the way women were portrayed in African films as weak, passive, nothing like the bold American stars she saw who smart-talked their way through leading roles. They were also nothing like the women she saw around her. “I grew up in a tota