LARGE SCALE SOLO EXHIBITION AT THE ARSHT CENTER
Chi Villines in front of her own portrait at the Miami Women exhibition at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami
When my Miami Women book was turned into a large-scale exhibition at the Adrienne Arsht Center (one of the largest performing arts complexes in the country), it brought new opportunities to connect with and spread the word on the special life stories of the ladies in the book.
I presented at the Brockway Memorial library in collaboration with the Miami Shores Chamber of Commerce and brought along 3 of the women each with a very different story to tell. We had Chi Villines (photo above), whose battle with eczema led her to raise awareness about the fact that while eczema is more prevalent and severe in people of color, the skincare industry tends to be run by white males and products are also mostly tested on white men.
Veronica Pesantes (left) and Alison Thompson (right) at the Miami Women Exhibition at the Arsht Center for the Performing Arts Miami
There was Alison Thompson whose 30,000 people strong volunteer organization Third Wave Volunteers is on the frontline to help out in war and disaster zones across the globe, and finally Sandra Abi-Rashed who helps kickstart many young people’s careers by connecting them with seasoned people in different industries with her non-profit Mentoro.
Whenever ladies from the book speak, they touch the hearts of people. The best part of the presentation was the book signing afterwards, when each person sat down next to me for a bit keen to tell me their own story, or to talk about how the women in the book inspired them to make changes in their own lives.
Lucy Morillo looking at her own portrait with dog Rambo
On Saturday I led a small tour at the Arsht Center for some of the ladies from the book. I interviewed many of the women several years ago and everyone’s life looks different now from the way it was during the pandemic. For Lucy Morillo, whose dog Rambo was a key character in her photos (because he just felt he had to be in every single one of them), it was emotional to see her portrait since she lost her dog just a few weeks prior.
Violetter de Ayala, founder of FemCity in front of her portrait - Miami Women exhibition at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami
Violette de Ayala (above), founder of nationwide professional women’s network FemCity, has become a close friend, just like Sandra Abi-Rashed (portrait on the right), who founded Mentoro, and so many of the ladies in the book.
Surfers Anouck Jourdaa (l) and Natasha Franco (r) in front of their photo - Miami Women exhibition at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami
One of the surfers, Natasha Franco (above), was literally giving birth during the exhibition opening, so she came to the tour after and breast-fed while having her picture taken.
Brigid Baker (@BrigidBaker_WholeProject - also in the book) had invited us for a potluck at her dance studio - an incredible place full of props made of recycled materials and things - and treated us to a beautiful performance with some of her dancers.
Brigid Baker’s Potluck
Each of us feels a special connection with one another. It’s as if the book has created a community. We all want to get to know each other better, spend more time in one another’s company. We’re all so different but every time we get together, new connections and friendships are made. We naturally just want to support each other.
When I started the book, I had no idea this would happen but my friend Molly Birkholm kept saying - you watch Femke, the book is just the start. And look at us now, the book is a large solo exhibition (my first exhibition ever), and more importantly it was the start of many special friendships.