Lately, I find myself using the new year to reflect on what I have done and where I want to go next. This year, as I sat down to think about what is next for the Femme Project, I realized that this will be the 10th year since I began this journey. What began as a germ of an idea to explore and develop my own creativity has blossomed into an artistic pursuit to empower women, drive change, and make art with purpose.
How the Femme Project was born
In 2014, the Femme Project began in the basement, a metaphorically good place to start. Initially, I wanted to work behind the scenes, keeping my work in relative safety as I experimented with what I wanted to say and how to say it. I was plagued by fear. Fearful of judgment, of ruining a corporate career that I had in my back pocket if things didn’t work out. Fearful that I didn’t have anything to say and fearful that if I did, it would face ridicule. Or worse, no one would care. Early on, I worked with photography and collage, paint and pixels. As an artist attempting to reconnect with my fine art past, I struggled with direction, mediums, and voice. The art world available to me then was limitless as well as limited. I could be an artist focused on my craft—deliberately perfecting paint on canvas for the gallery wall—or I could push outside those boundaries into the unknown … a space that felt entirely foreign yet fascinating to me. Then came Instagram.
Growing Pains
My art grew up on Instagram. The social platform offered me—and others—the virtual space to post freely, connect broadly, and build community. I was introduced to ideas that inspired, not just in my neighborhood, but globally. Feminist thought, social justice, and expressions of identity, sexuality, and body positivity made their way into my thinking and, by extension, my art. I took those early years to grow and nurture my understanding of my place amid the digital and analog chaos, and my role in it. I explored ideas of my perceived femininity, and ways to either embrace or subvert it. I looked to experiences as inspiration and reflection. I jumped on bandwagons and off of them. I began to tear down the walls in my mind—erected by myself and others—that inhibited my creativity and my voice. From here, the union of three concepts took shape: identity, sex and sexuality, and equality. The Femme Project became more than just a vessel for my own work—it became a means by which creative agency could be forged for others, specifically women.
The Femme Project has finally moved out the basement, figuratively and physically. There was once a humble studio space and a move from the East Coast to the West Coast and back again. There were group art shows, erotic film festivals, artistic collaborations, and forays into independent publishing. There were successes, failures, and lukewarm receptions. Ten years in, the Femme Project has been an incredible journey, and one that still looks and thinks beyond the horizon. The portfolio of projects and initiatives continue to grow and imagine a world where women are equal, empowered, and thriving.
Where the Femme Project is Going
What can you expect from me and the Femme Project in 2024? Well, we are coming out swinging. The recent social and political challenges experienced by women are all the more present today, perhaps more so, than as they were in 2014. The fall of Roe and the prospect of another Trump presidency in the 2024 election will continue to drive the advocacy efforts of the Femme Project and #RespectHerSex. Madame X Book 1.1 will be continuing its marketing debut with appearances at independent book fairs in the Mid-Atlantic region. The art of the Femme Project will be expanding into the art market scene with handmade and bespoke pieces for sale with that fiercely-feminist and sex-positive edge you have come to know and love. The Femme Project website will be getting a makeover which includes a new, online shop so you can buy art and merchandise that directly supports the mission. Last, and most certainly, not least, 2024 will be the year of new projects that explore the divine trifecta of gender identity, sex and sexuality, and equality.
The first ten years of the Femme Project have been inspired by and made possible because of YOU. The arts is a solitary endeavor and one that needs your support, through both tangible and intangible means. I hope that you will join me, engage, and continue to support the work and the mission of the Femme Project … today, tomorrow, and ten years down the winding road.
