MICA Mothers Institute for Collaboration and Art

🎉 Presenting MICAfest Featured Artist, Lyza Fennell! 🎉 Lyza Fennell is a multi-disciplinary artist, entrepreneur, and mother of two who isn't afraid to embrace the unknown. As a mother, she describes her journey as "death-defying and life-changing," her children mean the world to her, and they continue to teach and inspire her. Lyza explores themes of womanhood, motherhood, and the human condition with humor and depth in her art. A former manager of Betsey Johnson, co-owner of a music production company, and current Director of Operations for LawTutors, Lyza, a Smith College alum, brings a diverse background to her latest venture: MICA, a radical community for mothers in the arts. Lyza is a recipient of the 2024 Mass Cultural Council Grant for Creative Individuals. See An Evening with Phineas written by Lyza Fennell tonight at 7:00! Many thanks to director Marty Bongfeldt and the cast, Emily P Bloch, James Tanner Echols, Adriana Piantedosi, and R. Steve Pierce. 🎟️ Buy your tickets today! Tickets in the bio on Instagram or https://lnkd.in/eF9d4DAW 🎭Event: Perfect Imperfections Behind the Facade: an Evening at the Theatre 📅 Date: Thursday,  May 23rd, 2024 🕖 Time: 7:00 pm 💰 Tickets: $15-35, sliding scale  📍 Location: 33 Hawley Street Northampton. @33hawley @nohocenterforthearts  🎨 Don't miss out on the visual art exhibit in the Split Level Gallery!  Lyza also has a painting on view at Bombyx. Bombyx has open hours today from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm. 📸 Exhibition Details: Peacock Room at Bombyx Center @bombyx.live The exhibit will be on view from May 2nd to May 29th. While participating in an event, workshop, class, or meeting, don't miss out on the visual art exhibit. 🎟️ Art Reception: RSVP Now!  https://lnkd.in/ente8fun ✨Buy art, support m/other artists! 💖   🎭 Lyza Fennell and many more musicians, dancers, poets, and performance artists will grace the festival. MICAfest2024 is scheduled from May 1-31st across Northampton.  🎭.  *** 🤱Established in 2022, Mothers Institute for Collaboration and Arts (MICA) is a mother-led organization dedicated to amplifying the voices of m/other artists and advocating for their inclusion in the arts landscape. #ExperienceMICA #MICAfest2024 #MICAfestNorthampton #NorthamptonMA  #LyzaFennell  #MotherArtist #MomArtist #MothersinArt  #ArtForChange #MothersView #ArtRevolution #artistmomsunite #theatreartist #SmithCollege #AdaComstockScholar #SmithCollegeAlum #LenBerkman #ChangeMaker #WesternMassArtist #MassCulturalCouncil

An Evening with Phineas a staged reading by Lyza Fennell and directed by Marty Bongfeldt. Get your tickets today and get ready to bite your nails in anticipation. https://lnkd.in/eF9d4DAW Many thanks to the cast: Emily P Bloch, James Tanner Echols, Adriana Piantedosi, R. Steve Pierce This “warm up” act will get you ready for: My Mother Had Two Faces: Reflections on Beauty, Aging, and Acceptance A one-woman show by Karin Trachtenberg Karin’s autobiographical dramatic comedy reveals the hidden layers of her mother’s life, exploring beauty, aging, and acceptance.   Perfect Imperfections Behind the Facade: An Evening at the Theatre 🎭 📅 Date: May 23, 2024  🕖 Time: 7:00 PM   📍 Location: Northampton Center for the Arts at 33 Hawley. @Northampton Center for the Arts #TheatreNight #PerfectImperfections #NorthamptonArts #LivePerformance #Drama #Comedy #SelfReflection #TheatreLovers #ExperienceMICA #MICAfest2024 #MICAfestNorthampton #Northampton #ArtForChange #MothersView #ArtRevolution #artistmomsunite Adriana Piantedosi Marty Bongfeldt Karin Trachtenberg Lyza F. James Echols

Join us for a cost-free evening loaded with a sparkling mix of artistry and culture at Arts Night Out: MICA Edition 🎭. This captivating event is set to light up the Northampton Center for the Arts 🎨, a hub of cultural vibrancy, on the 10th of May, from 5 pm to 8 pm. Surround yourself with an ambiance that is purely artistic! 🌟    Focus your senses on 'Motherhood Unbound' 🤱, a thought-provoking exhibit that plunges into the unfiltered truth and tough trials of motherhood. This expressive installation encapsulates the soul of motherhood through a range of stirring artistic forms, presenting a visually riveting narrative that will leave you contemplating the strength and resilience of mothers globally. 👩👧👦    Add the ideal final touch to your experience with a special performance by Elena Ciampa and Friends 🎵. Ready yourself for a magical evening filled with melodious tunes and resonating rhythms that will bewitch your senses and seize your heart. Let the thumping beats and gentle harmonies guide you on a voyage of musical exploration. 🎶    This is genuinely an event you won't want to miss! Be a part of this unforgettable fusion of art and music—be there! 🖼️🎼🎶

Arts Night Out, Tonight, May 10, from 5-8 PM, as these are your dedicated hours to immerse yourself in the art world. Your scenic journey begins at NEVAmuseum and ends at the Anchor House of Artists, two of Northampton's most esteemed creative spaces.     Prepare to be mesmerized by a diverse troupe of visual artists, each with distinct styles and innovative techniques. They are the creative minds setting the stage for our noteworthy event, Arts Night Out: Art Crawl MICA Edition, happening in the heart of Northampton. 🎨    Among the evening's highlights is the dynamic live performance by Stefanie Weber. Her artistic prowess and unique approach to performance art promise to leave you spellbound, offering an experience you won't easily forget. 🎭     We invite you to treasure this enriching cultural experience that we are giving you, free of cost. Yes, you read that right! There's no entry fee, so you can enjoy a night of art and culture without shelling out a penny! 🎟️     So, Northampton, are you ready for an evening that promises to be a feast for your senses? Come and witness the local art scene in all its glory, see it shine bright, and who knows, you might find your new favorite artist! 🌟     Remember, art is not merely to be seen but to be experienced. So, let our Arts Night Out be your gateway to an unforgettable artistic journey.    #NorthamptonMA #ArtsNightOutNorthampton #MICAfest2024 #MICAfestNorthamptonMA #ArtistMothers #Northampton #WesternMassArts

Life certainly has a knack for pitching us unexpected curveballs, doesn't it? 😅 Owing to an unforeseen hiccup, our much-anticipated event will have to be postponed. We're hustling to create a fresh space for our artists, so hang tight! 🎨 But let's not lose heart or let this cloud our spirits because we have an arsenal of other events and a Plan B at our disposal 🎉🍷🍻     We've been at the drawing board, planning to make this festival impactful, groundbreaking, and entertaining, so now this momma's ready to kick back her feet and pass the baton to you! 🙌 We understand that this news might be disappointing, so we're steering towards a different course. How about instead of a performance, we rendezvous at a cool brewery or similar? (preferably somewhere that also serves wine 🍇). We (Lyza) would absolutely adore meeting up and celebrating this wonderful thing we call Mother’s Day and all the amazing m/others! 💕    We're all ears for your ideas! Do let us know if you got this message! 😊📩

🎨 80 M/other Artists Meetup in #northamptonmassachusetts 📍    We've landed! Behold the mesmerizing art at @bombyx.live 🖼️, @anchorhouse_artists 🎨, @nohocenterforthearts🏛️    🎉This Friday's Arts Night Out features our artist reception 🤝 and special performances by MICA artists. 🎵    🎭 Saturday is a must - with dance and theatre showcasing four interdisciplinary performances💃🎭     Do note, our Mother's Day event has been rescheduled. 📅    Next up:     1️⃣ Mom-ologues 🗣️    2️⃣ Perfect Imperfections 💫     3️⃣ Our Bombyx Reception with @wakethedeaddonuts_ 🍩    4️⃣ And finally, our M/otherlode Closing Celebration 🎆    Links for tickets 🎟️ are right in our bio's Linktr.ee store.     Also, head over to https://lnkd.in/eVd-bMTi for all the details. Tickets are now also available on EventBrite. 🎉     We've kept it simple and easy for you! 💁♀️    #ExperienceMICA #MICAfest2024 #MICAfestNorthampton #Northampton #MotherArtist #MomArtist #MothersinArt  #ArtForChange #MothersView #ArtRevolution #artistmomsunite    

🎉 Presenting MICAfest Featured Artist, Laura Sánchez! 🎉    💃 Laura Sánchez is an award-winning flamenco artist, creator, choreographer, and educator from Cádiz, Spain. Laura transforms her personal lived experience into interdisciplinary pieces combining flamenco with spoken word, film, poetry, and installation to uplift the voices of Latinx, Hispanic, immigrant women, caregivers, and individuals with disabilities that often go unheard. Laura received professional training from the Dance Conservatory of Madrid and holds a Professional Certificate in Expressive Arts Therapies from Lesley University, where she developed an emerging therapeutic dance practice, Expressive Flamenco®. She presents this work internationally and serves annually as a Guest Professor for Lesley University. She is currently teaching at Harvard University. Welcome to Holland!? -Exploring the Unspoken Realities of Motherhood.                                       Sánchez reimagines Emily Kingsley's poem about parenting a child with a disability to capture the essence of being a mother and caregiver waking up to a world transformed by trauma. Flamenco, poetry, humor, film, and installation all fuse in this performance, challenging societal narratives around motherhood, disability, and ableism while elevating the inherent strength of caregivers.  🎭Event: M/otherhood in Motion: Dance and Theatre Performance: “Welcome to Holland?!” 📅 Date: Saturday May 11th, 2024 🕖 Time: 7:00 pm - 9:30 pm 💰 Tickets: $25.00 📍 Location: Northampton Center for the Arts at 33 Hawley Street, Northampton. @nohocenterforthearts  🎨 While at 33 Hawley, don't miss out on the visual art exhibit!    Laura Sánchez @LauraSanchezFlamenco and many more musicians, dancers, poets, visual artists, and performance artists will grace the festival 🎭.  🎟️ Visit the link in our bio to grab your tickets now! Limited capacity! https://lnkd.in/egU56jPy *** Established in 2022, Mothers Institute for Collaboration and Arts (MICA) is a mother-led organization 🤱, dedicated to amplifying the voices of m/other artists and advocating for their inclusion in the arts landscape. Video: Welcome to Holland by Laura Sánchez. Videography by Bill Parsons / Maximal Image. Installation Artist, Mary Hale and costume by Belen de la Quintana. #ExperienceMICA #MICAfest2024 #MICAfestNorthampton #NorthamptonMA #Laura Sánchez #MotherArtist #MomArtist #MothersinArt  #ArtForChange #MothersView #ArtRevolution #artistmomsunite #EverettMA #interdisciplinary #Flamenco #SpanishArtist #InterdisciplanryDance #Disabilities

🎨 Introducing MICAfest Featured Visual Artist, Laura Green!🌟 Laura Green @lauragreenstudio hails from Imperial Beach, CA. She tells us: “My artistic practice is a way to protect, preserve, and remember my parenting experience… I seek to portray my subjects, often my children, with a sense of agency and wholeness...My act of looking and listening  ...is my method of slowing down time.” “My subject matter reflects the time I have spent homeschooling my children... exploring natural spaces with them... my work explores my desire to protect, preserve and remember the plants and animals we live with...  I want to record their childhood in real-time and highlight the importance of being outside." Exhibition Details: Catch Laura’s paintings in the Split Level Gallery at 33 Hawley Street and Northampton Center for the Arts @nohocenterforthearts, May 3-31st. Don't miss this chance to see her paintings – they'll be available for purchase! ✨ 🛍️ ✨ 🎟️ Art Reception: Join us for the art reception on May 10th, 5:00-8:00 PM, as part of Arts Night Out Northampton. 🎉 While Laura won’t be there, you can certainly show her some love by posting what you love about her art @lauragreenstudio. Celebrate Laura and other featured artists, connect with art enthusiasts, and support m/other artists whose work inspires us all. 💖 🤱 About MICA: Established in 2022, Mothers Institute for Collaboration and Arts (MICA) amplifies the voices of mother artists. MICAfest2024 supports m/other artists through exhibitions, festivals, and community events. 💪 🎭 Join Us at MICAfest2024: Immerse yourself in a celebration of art, culture, and community from May 1st to May 31st across Northampton. Laura and other talented artists will grace the festival with their artistic presence. 🤩 Experience the power of art and join us at MICAfest2024! Explore Laura's intimate paintings and discover other incredible artists at our visual art exhibit. Want even more? Support MICAfest with ticketed events featuring weekly performances! Your participation makes this celebration of mother artists possible. 🎨🌟 #ExperienceMICA #MICAfest2024 #MICAfestNorthampton #MotherArtist #ArtForChange #ArtRevolution #LauraGreen #Painter #HomeschoolMom #artistmomsunite

🎉 Presenting MICAfest Featured Artist Mary Warren Foulk! 🎉   📚A graduate of Vermont College of Fine Arts, Mary Warren Foulk (she/her) has been published in The Hollins Critic, Palette Poetry, Fjords Review, Silkworm, The Gay & Lesbian Review, and North American Review, among other publications. Her work also has appeared in Who’s Your Mama? The Unsung Voices of Women and Mothers (Soft Skull Press), (M)othering Anthology (Inanna Publications), and My Loves: A Digital Anthology of Queer Love Poems (Ghost City Press). She has two award-winning chapbooks, If I Could Write You a Happier Ending (dancing girl press) and Erasures of My Coming Out (Letter) (The Poetry Box). Her newest collection, The Show Must Go On, was a finalist for the 2021 Gival Press Poetry Award, and the Inlandia Institute’s 2022 Hillary Gravendyk Prize, and a semi-finalist for the Word Works' 2022 Washington Prize. It is forthcoming from Fernwood Press (Summer 2024). “I am an imperfect mother. I am a motherless mother. I am a mother who is also an artist, educator, writer, activist. A daughter. A wife. A lover. A partner. A sister. A friend. Grateful. Vulnerable. Strong. Curious. Afraid. I am an evolving mother.” 🎤 Mary Warren Foulk will read from her book at our opening event, Poetry and Music Night, on May 4th at 7:00 PM at @anchorhouse_artists. While at Anchor House, don't miss the visual art exhibit, which includes an installation of Mary’s Erasures!    Mary Warren Foulk and many more musicians, dancers, poets, and performance artists will grace the festival 🎭.  MICAfest 2024 is scheduled from May 1-31 across Northampton. 🎟️ Visit the link in our bio to grab your tickets now!  https://lnkd.in/eyyVzyvd *** Established in 2022, Mothers Institute for Collaboration and Arts (MICA) is a mother-led organization 🤱, dedicated to amplifying the voices of m/other artists and advocating for their inclusion in the arts landscape. Mary can be found at: https://lnkd.in/e_RUPdhv; Instagram: @mwfoulk; Facebook: Mary Warren Foulk, https://lnkd.in/e34gQ_j8; Twitter/X: @mwfoulk;  LinkedIn: https://lnkd.in/ea9G-GB8 Audio: from The Poetry Box LIVE -- January 2022 Edition discussion of Erasures of My Coming Out (Letter) by Mary Warren Foulk #ExperienceMICA #MICAfest2024 #MICAfestNorthampton #Northampton #MaryWarrenFoulk #MotherArtist #MomArtist #MothersinArt  #ArtForChange #MothersView #ArtRevolution #artistmomsunite

🎨 Introducing MICAfest Featured Visual Artist, S.T. Gately🌟       S.T. Gately @stgatelyartist_6680 is a 2D mixed media Visual Artist and PreK-8 Visual Arts Educator. She states, “I am also a caretaker for my elderly Mother. My relationship with M/otherhood is complex. My only experience with being a biological mother is a traumatic one. I was raped, became pregnant, and had a miscarriage as a result of the medications I was taking at the time. Otherwise, as an elementary educator, I have utilized my powers of wisdom and nurturing toward my students, so in a sense, I have hundreds of children. The piece exhibited in this show comprises bandages accrued while my Mother experienced an open wound for nine months. I am a resourceful artist who attempts to create meaning from pain, which is the objective of this piece. I wanted to commemorate my struggle as a caretaker and for others to bear witness to it.    Gately aims to visually express her emotions as a means of communicating with the world. For Gately, creating art is a compulsion and a necessary tool for revealing her artistic voice.      📸 Exhibition Details: Catch S.T.'s powerful pieces at the Peacock Room, Bombyx Center @bombyx.live, May 2-29th. Don't miss this chance to experience her evocative creation firsthand!    🎭 Join Us at MICAfest2024: Immerse yourself in a celebration of art, culture, and community across Northampton from May 1st to May 31st. S.T.  and other talented artists will grace the festival with their presence.    🎟️ Art Reception: RSVP for the art reception on May 25th, 2:00-4:00 PM. Meet S.T. and other featured artists, connect with art enthusiasts, and support m/other artists whose work inspires us all.     🤱 About MICA: Established in 2022, Mothers Institute for Collaboration and Arts (MICA) amplifies the voices of mother artists. MICAfest2024 supports m/other artists through exhibitions, festivals, and community events. Your ticket purchases fund artist stipends and future programs, ensuring mother-artists thrive.    Experience the power of art and join us at MICAfest2024! Secure your tickets today and be part of the art revolution. 🎨🌟 #ExperienceMICA #MICAfest2024 #MICAfestNorthampton #STGately #VisualArtist #MotherArtist #ArtForChange #ArtRevolution