Intermedia Arts takes on “Project Girl”

In our connected world, issues of media and advertising are more complicated than ever—especially for young girls. Intermedia Arts aims to focus the dialogue this summer by hosting Project Girl: A Multimedia Exhibition & Guide to Un-Mediafying Your Life. The exhibit will include visual, literary, digital, and video art by professional artists as well as by adolescent artists.

“Intermedia Arts was contacted by Jane Bartell and Kelly Parks Snyder, the founders of Project Girl, in summer 2007 because of their interest in bringing the exhibit and experience from Madison, Wisconsin, to Minneapolis,” said Theresa Sweetland, executive director of Intermedia Arts. “We found it to be an excellent fit because of our work with women and girls in the hip-hop community through B-Girl Be, a celebration of women in hip-hop. Since we’re taking a year off from hosting the B-Girl Be Summit, we knew that this would be a great opportunity to stay connected to those issues and audiences in this community.”

Project Girl tours nationally as a visual arts exhibition, with and hands-on events and workshops. While in Minneapolis, the exhibit’s organizers will partner with local organizations including the Walker Art Center’s Teens Arts Council, the Emily Program, New Moon Girl Media, and the Girl Scouts of Minnesota. The goal is to provide young girls with the foundation for long-term change in the way that they consume media. Art-based workshops, including opportunities to create work to be featured in the exhibit, are meant to encourage resistance to harmful media messages. “The goal of the training is to give examples and tools directly to educators, parents and youth workers who want to know how they can take the Project Girl workshop lessons and ideas back to their homes, schools and community centers,” said Sweetland.

“Project Girl is a movement started by two passionate and talented women—artists and moms who wanted to see this next generation of girls have the tools to respond to the constant bombardment of media images,” continued Sweetland. “By teaching girls how to use art, words and their own creativity, Project Girl gives girls a chance to take charge of their own self-image and talk back to advertisers and marketers.”

Project Girl runs from June 6-August 16 at Intermedia Arts, 2822 Lyndale Avenue S., Minneapolis. The exhibit opens on June 6 with a presentation by Lyn Mikel Brown, Ed.D., author of Packaging Girlhood and a co-creator of Hardy Girls, Healthy Women. Project Girl co-creators Kelly Parks Snider and Jane Bartell will also be on hand. Beginning July 10, audiences can see visual and video artwork created by Twin Cities girls. Intermedia Arts is also partnering with the Perpich Center for Arts Education to present media literacy curriculum training on June 24. For more information, see projectgirl.org or intermediaarts.org.

Katie Anderson is a freelance writer in Minneapolis.