Lord Cultural Resources, the world’s largest cultural professional practice, marked Women’s History Month this March by honouring four women each week. Divided into Leaders, Trailblazers, DEAI Advocates and Youth, the firm introduced a group of inspirational women who are working to make the world a better place through culture.
The Leader category focuses on global cultural visionaries who are elevating and empowering those who follow them, while the Trailblazer category celebrates cultural pioneers who have broken barriers and continue to pave the way for future generations. The DEAI (diversity, equality, accessibility and inclusion) group features women who have transformed and permanently shifted the cultural landscape by promoting diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion. Finally, the Youth category recognises activists, artists, and entrepreneurs boldly changing the cultural sector.
Leaders
During the first week of March, Lord Cultural Resources introduced four remarkable leaders.
Ma. Elizabeth “Mariles” L. Gustilo, senior director of arts and culture at Ayala Museum, led her colleagues through the challenges brought on by the pandemic in the Philippines, helping to introduce new ways to connect with the museum virtually. She also led improvements to both the building and its exhibitions. Her work to digitise the museum collections has meant that a broader and younger generation of Filipinos is now able to learn about the art and history of their country.
Akeia de Barros Gomes, senior curator of maritime social history at the Mystic Seaport Museum, has worked to reframe narratives at the museum. In one recent public talk, she explored how America’s maritime history would be presented if it had always been told through Black and Indigenous voices.
Ayesha Williams is the executive director of The Laundromat Project, which makes art accessible and relevant in New York City neighbourhoods where people of colour live. Under her leadership, it connects community initiatives to art.
Dr Alka Pande, curator, art historian and art consultant, has inspired the transformation of museums in India for over 30 years, thanks to her visionary leadership. Her exhibition, Women and Deities, at Bihar Museum, is a key example of her work to explore women in the arts of India.
Trailblazers
Cassidy Caron, president of Métis National Council, is the first woman to lead the Council and an advocate of Métis identity, history and culture. She says she is guided by her ancestors who led before her while being mindful of the generations of leaders to follow.
Marcela Guerrero, a senior curator at the Whitney Museum of American Art, is a key advocate of Latinx art and is committed to reaching more Latinx audiences. Her work includes the Whitney’s current exhibition about Puerto Rican art in the devastating aftermath of Hurricane Maria in 2017, which is regarded as one of the most significant surveys of contemporary Puerto Rican art in 50 years.
Farzana Wahidy, a documentary photographer, became the first female photographer in Afghanistan to work with international media agencies in the early 2000s. She chronicles the lives of Afghan women with empathy and courage.
Rakhi Sarkar, founder and director of the Centre of International Modern Art in Kolkata, is working to democratise the work of art for artists and collectors in India. Through the museum, she helps new artists to showcase their talent, and her affordable Art Mela program makes works of art accessible to a new generation.
DEAI Advocates
Abra Lee, horticulturist, founder of Conquer the Soil, author and thought leader, has championed the garden history of African Americans and their gardening traditions from slavery through Reconstruction to today. She has also advocated for urban gardens.
Dr Claudine Booner, vice-provost of equity, diversity and inclusion at Acadia University is leading transformational change at Acadia University in Nova Scotia, Canada as the first person to hold this new role.
Nicole A. Moore, director of education at The National Center for Civil and Human Rights, takes the difficult histories and uncomfortable conversations around enslavement and makes them accessible to general visitors so the enslaved may be seen as resilient people with the same emotions, thoughts and talents as any other human.
Arpita Das, the founder-publisher of Yoda Press, created this independent publishing house to be a platform for authors writing about subjects outside the comfort zone of mainstream publishers in India. Not only does this work amplify voices tackling gender, sexuality, and feminism, but it has also helped to change laws, as Yoda Press’s books have been cited in court proceedings that have decriminalised homosexuality and recognised transgender rights.
Youth
Ilene Sova, an artist educator and Ada Slaight chair of contemporary painting and drawing at OCAD University, has dedicated her career to art and activism. Blank Canvases, an arts program for elementary school children, encourages them to think and live creatively. As a response to the attacks on women’s rights and trans rights in Canada and abroad, she founded The Feminist Art Collective, a platform for multidisciplinary art.
Little Amal is a 12-foot puppet of a young refugee from war-torn Syria. She has walked about 10,000 km across 13 countries searching for her mother. A charity fundraiser and public art event with a moral message from a child at its heart, Amal’s appeal to the world is, ‘don’t forget about us.’
Arundhati Mitter, executive director of Flow India, develops programs and projects that connect students to cultural entities in India. The organisation’s mission is to prepare students for the 21st century as open-minded and collaborative critical thinkers by making culture relevant and accessible to them.
Kendra Walker, the founder of Atlanta Art Week, has helped Atlanta’s thriving arts scene to get national recognition. Atlanta Art Week brings together galleries, artists, collectors, and art enthusiasts with the goal of promoting contemporary art and providing opportunities for growth and recognition.
Lord Cultural Resources encourages you to download the poster here and continue to celebrate these women and their achievements.
Recently, Lord Cultural Resources celebrated the opening of the Abrahamic Family House project. The firm provided its expertise during the design and construction of this new multi-faith campus in Abu Dhabi, UAE
