VINT/AGE 2020
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Emily Owens PR | emily@emilyowenspr.com | 917.408.3677
THE WOMEN IN THE ARTS & MEDIA COALITION
PRESENTS THE 2020 vintage award
Martha Richards
recipient of the 3rd Elsa Rael VintAge Award
for Advocacy for Women in the Arts & Media
as They Age
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 14 ON ZOOM
The Women in the Arts & Media Coalition will host a digital presentation of the 2020 VintAge Award, which celebrates the voice and vision of women in the arts and media as they age, on Saturday, November 14 at 3pm EST/12pm PST via Zoom. The 2020 Elsa Rael VintAge Award honoree is Martha Richards, the Founder and President of WomenArts, originally The Fund for Women Artists, an affiliate member organization of the Coalition. The awards ceremony will include speakers who have worked with Ms. Richards, throughout her illustrious career, as well as several musical performances.
Every two to three years, the Women in Arts and Media Coalition hosts VintAge, an event celebrating the voice and vision of women in the arts and media as they age. The Coalition brings together members of our community to recognize and pay tribute to those who have dedicated their time and energy to supporting each other, professionally and personally, through the years, as they continue to produce vibrant and exciting creative work. We also present the Elsa Rael VintAge Award to a woman who has offered significant support to women aging in the arts, as Elsa Rael did through her co-founding of the Coalition and her years of work on the board, as well as her POW (Professional Older Women’s) Theatre Festival at the Public Theatre.
The 2020 Elsa Rael VintAge Award recipient is Martha Richards, the Founder and President of WomenArts. “Martha has dedicated her life to women in the arts at every stage of their career,” says Co-President Yvonne Curry. Adds Co-President Avis Boone, "Her Advocacy is for women around the world, and always with an eye to Diversity and Inclusion."
Martha Richards served as the Executive Director of WomenArts from January 1995 until her retirement in June 2020. During her 25 years with WomenArts, Richards was a tireless fundraiser and advocate for women in the arts, and she created a variety of programs designed to increase the visibility and opportunities for women artists in all genres. Prior to WomenArts, Richards served as Executive Director of Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts at Brooklyn College and as Managing Director of StageWest, a regional theatre in Springfield, Massachusetts. She has written and lectured extensively on arts and cultural policy issues. Richards has been frequently recognized for her commitment to women and to the arts. In April 2006 she was one of three U.S. nominees (with Quincy Jones and Wynton Marsalis) for the prestigious international Montblanc De La Culture Award for outstanding service to the arts. In April 2009 she was inducted into the BayPath College 21st Century Women Business Leaders Hall of Fame for her work in philanthropy. She has been honored as one of three “founding mothers” of the Women’s Fund of Western Massachusetts. In 2018 StateraArts created the annual Martha Richards Visionary Leadership Award in her honor. Richards has a B.A. in Economics from the University of California Berkeley and a J.D. from the University of California Hastings College of Law. She was one of the founding directors of California Lawyers for the Arts.
Speakers will include Paul Tetreault (Director of Ford’s Theater in Washington, DC), Rebecca Strang (former Marketing Director at StageWest), Christine Young (Director of the Honors College at University of San Francisco; co-author of Not Even: A Study of Gender Parity in Bay Area Theatres), Jovelyn Richards (writer, performance artist, storyteller, radio host, and diversity consultant), Deborah Magdalena, (founder of Spoken Soul Festival/SWAN Day Miami), Melinda Pfundstein (Executive Director of Statera Arts in Cedar City, UT), Alice Tuan (member of WomenArts Theatre Roster program; SWAN Day participant), Sophie Dowllar (2019 recipient of the StateraArts’ Martha Richards Visionary Woman in Leadership Award), and Mary Watkins (composer of Fannie Lou Hamer).
Women in the Arts & Media Coalition is a non-profit organization, which represents more than 200,000 women in the performing arts and media through its member organizations and affiliates. The Coalition focuses the power of its member organizations and their memberships together and uses their combined strength to address issues of concern through advocacy, networking and educational events. Member organizations are: Actors' Equity Association, Associated Musicians of New York Local 802 AFM, Dramatists Guild, League of Professional Theatre Women, New York Women in Communications, New York Women in Film & Television, SAG-AFTRA New York Local, Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, and the Writers Guild of America, East. Affiliates are: BOLD, Drama Desk, International Center for Women Playwrights, The Lambs, Los Angeles Female Playwrights Initiative, National Theatre Conference, Professional Women Singers Association, 365 Women a Year: A Playwriting Project, Theater Resources Unlimited, Women in Music, The Women's Media Center, Women Make Movies, and WomenArts. Admission is $10 for members of any of the Coalition's member organizations and $15 for non-members. For more information and to purchase tickets,
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VINT/AGE 2017
WOMEN IN THE ARTS & MEDIA COALITION ANNOUNCES
Vint/Age 2014
Supporting the Voice and Vision of Women in the Arts & Media As They Age
Including presentation of the 1st Elsa Rael VintAge Award
to Morgan Jenness
by Tisa Chang
featuring
Tisa Chang, Morgan Jenness, Isa Goldberg, Barbara Davis,
Liz Rosenberg, Yvonne Curry, and more
your hosts, Co-Presidents Avis Boone & Shellen Lubin
with Estelle Parsons and Gretchen Cryer on video
Screening of ADVANCED STYLE
plus THE THREE OF US,
a new short film starring Leslie Uggams
and
includes a reception and networking
at MIST Harlem
46 West 116th Street (just off #2 & #3 train stop)
read the article from Broadway World: http://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Women-in-the-Arts-Media-Coalition-to-Host-VintAge-1018-at-MIST-Harlem-20141010
VintAge celebrates the voice and vision of women in the arts and media as they age. This year's VintAge features a about older women with their own personal styles and philosophies, and a short, JUST THE THREE OF US, starring Leslie Uggams. The event will also have an esteemed panel (t.b.a.). Estelle Parsons and Gretchen Cryer will be speaking in recorded videos. Tisa Chang (Artistic Director, Pan Asian Rep) will then be presenting the 1st Elsa Rael VintAge award to Morgan Jenness, agent & dramaturg, for her advocacy work on behalf of playwright Maria Irene Fornes, which will be followed by a reception and networking.
This year's VintAge features the 1st Elsa Rael VintAge Award Winner for advocacy for women in the arts & media as they age being presented to Morgan Jenness, dramaturg & agent, for spearheading the cause célèbre that has protected Maria Irene Fornes and her playwriting work in her elder years. The award will be presented by Tisa Chang, artistic director of Pan Asian Rep. There will also be pre-taped personal statements made about Elsa Rael and the importance of celebrating women in the arts and media as they age by Estelle Parsons and Gretchen Cryer.
It will be an afternoon both entertaining and illuminating, beginning with the new documentary, ADVANCED STYLE,
by Lina Plyoplyte, the story behind the fashion blog which became an international phenomenon (70 minutes); and JUST THE THREE OF US, a short film by Angela Tucker starring Leslie Uggams (15 minutes).
Following will be a panel on breakthroughs and issues of women aging in the arts and media moderated by Isa Goldberg, President of the Drama Desk; panelists include Barbara Davis, COO of the Actors Fund; Morgan Jeness, agent & dramaturg; Tisa Chang, Artistic Director of Pan Asian Rep; Liz Rosenberg, poet/novelist; Yvonne Curry, choreographer/director.
The award presentation will then be followed by a reception and networking. Hosts for the day will be Co-Presidents of the Coalition, Shellen Lubin and Avis Boone.
Presented by the Women in the Arts & Media Coalition, and co-sponsored by NYWIFT, SAG-AFTRA, Dramatists Guild, and the League of Professional Theatre Women.