Her Voice

Hello everyone,

After a quick start with Her Voice, I’ve decide to rethink its purpose, activities and goals.  I have decided to postpone this project until September 2012.  It will return to help support Canadian women in the arts, but with a different approach.  I have no doubt in my mind that this project will still be needed and I look forward to helping women grow and succeed in the arts in Canada and on the international stage.

All the best and we’ll see you in a few months!

Julie Laurin

Founder, Her Voice Canada

Formed in Ottawa (Canada) in 1997, First of June is a main creative outlet for multi-instrumentalist/producer Stephane Danis and vocalist/keyboardist Vanessa Laurin.  They’ve just released a new, web-exclusive single: a cover of Kate Bush’s “Running up that hill”.  It’s brilliant.  Have a listen!

Find them on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/firstofjune

One of the things that has always bothered me about the art world in Canada is that a lot of artists (and their publicists) don’t tend to share news about their work outside of their city or province.  A lot of people forget that we have a large audience now, thanks to the Internet.

So, here’s what I want to do: I want to run daily or weekly blog posts through a new feature that I’ll call “Show Me!”.  If you work in the arts and want to share info about your show or artwork or music or stand-up comedy routine or you want to tell us about that prize you just won, then message me at julie@hervoice.ca.  Send me the link to your youtube video, to your art work or to snippets of your latest novel.  Don’t send me documents – your work should be online.

And don’t hesitate to make any suggestions about this feature or any other sections of this website.  This is my passion but it’s made for YOU.

Her Voice is giving away yet another business card grant.  Read the information below to find out how you can be selected as the recipient of this grant:

So, you’re an artist or you run an arts organization or you’re an arts advocate… you NEED business cards.  It’s essential for proper in-person networking.  Personally, I find that the business cards at moo.com happen to be the best in the industry.  So, on behalf of Her Voice, I’m giving away ONE business card grant for 100 cards printed through moo.com.

Here’s how it works:

Individuals: Send an email to Julie Laurin at julie@hervoice.ca.  Tell me who you are, what you’ve done in the arts and why you should get this.  You have to be a Canadian resident over 18 years of age.  I don’t care if you’re a filmmaker, a photographer, a writer, an actor, an editor, a dancer, a juggler, a make-up artist, a comedian, an editor… but you must be a woman.

Organizations: Send an email to Julie Laurin at julie@hervoice.ca.  If you’re applying on behalf of an organization, you don’t have to be a woman but you must indicate how your organization is advancing the status of women in the arts in Canada.  Also, tell me about what you do and the services or products that you provide.  And tell me why your organization needs this grant.

Format: You can send your application in the form of attachments but only as PDF documents or as images.  Any other file format will be rejected.  You can also include web links in your application (Youtube videos, an article on your blog, a multimedia presentation, etc).

Deadline: Wednesday, June 8th, 2011 at 1:00pm EST

Selection Process: I will pick the top five finalists and an assigned judge will choose the winning entry.  Entries will be judged based on need and on the creativity of the entry.  Essentially, the winners will be selected based on their ability to convince me and the judge that they’re the ‘one’.    One winner will be selected and will receive one business card grant.  Once contacted, the winner will have 72 hours to confirm that they are still interested in receiving the grant.  If we don’t hear back from the winner or if the winner declines being awarded the grant, it will be given to the next runner-up, who will become the new grant winner.  After the winner has been confirmed, he or she will have two weeks to send in the business card design.  If the design is not uploaded within two weeks of confirmation, the winner will lose the grant and it may be awarded to the runner-up or canceled.

Winner will be announced on June 15th, 2011.

Available grants:

1 – 100 cards at moo.com (Regular business cards or mini-cards: Classic or Green) – Value: approx 51.00 USD

If you have any questions, please leave a comment here or send me an email (julie@hervoice.ca).

And YES, please share this grant info anywhere you’d like!

You can also retweet by following Her Voice on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/hervoicecanada

I’ve decided that as much as I want Her Voice to provide resources and funding to women in the arts in Canada, I’d also like to take a moment once in a while and get to know the women who are working in this industry.  What do they enjoy about working in the arts?  What are their frustrations?  Did they go to school to learn their trade or are they self-taught?  What does it mean to be an ‘artist’, to them?  And what role do they think that the arts has in Canadian society?

I have so many questions to ask them.  And the more we learn about the people who make us laugh, make us cry, make us think and make us wonder, the more we can relate to them and that will help us define the kind of arts communities that we want to build in Canada.  I think that there’s a huge lack of support for the arts, outside of government programs.  I think that certain industries could grow much more if we brought more attention to them.  And I think that there’s a responsibility on the part of artists who want and need this growth to engage the public in order to make the arts more accessible to everyone.  This is the age of technology and I think that in Canada, technology is not being used properly, not just to promote the arts but to connect artists with one another.  We have so many more opportunities to open doors and build new bridges and to publicize our work within and beyond our physical communities!

Having said all that, I’m introducing a new monthly feature where I’ll be interviewing and featuring five women from different artistic and creative industries in Canada.  I’m starting off with actors!  So, if you’re a Canadian actor, send me a note at julie@hervoice.ca and tell me if you’d like to be considered for a spot in this feature.  Please get in touch with me by Friday, May 20th, 2011.

And please pass this along!

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En français…

Premièrement, c’est mon intention de pouvoir traduire tout mes messages en français.  Malheureusement, j’ai très peu de temps et mon français écrit n’est pas aussi bon que mon français parlé!  S’il y a quelqu’un ou plusieurs personnes qui pourrais se porter volontaires pour faire la traduction d’articles, svp me contacter!  Entre-temps, je ferai un effort ici et là pour m’assurer que ce site soit le plus bilingue que possible.

Je cherche des comédiennes pour un entrevue ainsi qu’un article à la fin du mois de mai.  Si ça vous intéresse, svp m’envoyer un message avant le 20 mai.   Cet article fera parti d’une nouvelle série d’articles avec le but d’introduire cinq femmes qui travaillent dans le secteur des arts au Canada.  A la fin de chaque mois, on va changer d’industrie: pour le mois de mai, j’aimerais parler des femmes qui travaillent comme commédienne (au théâtre, film, télévision, etc.).  J’espère pouvoir partager leurs histoires et leurs nouvelles afin qu’on puisse apprendre et connaître leurs peines, leurs ambitions, leurs joies ainsi que leurs recommendations pour le secteur des arts au Canada.  Je crois qu’on a vraiment la chance d’utiliser la technologie non seulement pour publiciser les arts, mais aussi pour connaître nos artistes et permettre à ces artistes de se rencontrer aussi!  Merci bien et j’espère que la communauté artistique francophone participera en grands nombre et si vous avez des suggestions ou commentaires, gênez-vous pas!