PRESENTED by MAWA & The Winnipeg Film Group

Dir. Pamela Boll Tanner & Nancy Kennedy | USA | 2007 | 73 mins. | Documentary

*Join us opening night for a Panel Discussion with co - director Nancy Kennedy,  MAWA Programming Co-ordinator Tracy Marshall, Elvira Finnegan and Gwen Armstrong, all three artists and mothers. On Saturday night there will be another panel with artist / mothers KC Adams and Cathy Mattes.

Who Does She Think Is? is a portrait of five women and the struggle they have over balancing a career as an artist with that of motherhood. Ranging from Janis Wunderlich, a happily married Mormon and mother of five children, to Maye Torres from New Mexico, who works on painting and sculpture.

With commentary by the Guerilla Girls, “Pamela Boll’s documentary about five women who heeded their instinctual desire to make art over the fears and protests of their families is also a call to arms: Rise up, ladies, with those chisels and paintbrushes and pens! Varied in birthplaces and backgrounds, these woman all grapple with the same dilemmas: how to nurture others (husbands, children) without destroying the best part of themselves (otherwise known as: I'd rather be in the studio than the kitchen) “ - Village Voice

NANCY KENNEDY/ BIOGRAPHY

Nancy Kennedy has worked on several major documentaries including editing the SUNDANCE GRAND JURY PRIZE WINNER Why We Fight and Riding the Rails as well as working on 60 Minutes, American Experience, Great Performances and National Geographic. She also co-directed and edited Bluegrass Journey and Who's On First (baseball comes to Greece) and is currently directing a film about feminism, She's Beautiful When She's Angry.

TRACY MARSHALL / BIOGRAPHY

Tracy Marshall was born in Saskatoon and moved to Toronto in 1990. There she obtained a diploma in ceramic arts, began her fine art degree at U of T, and had her first son in 1995. She and her family then moved to Seattle where she worked at Seattle Northwest Pottery Studio. Tracy’s second son was born in Seattle in 1999. In 2000, she and her family moved to Winnipeg where she proudly graduated from the U of M in April with her BFA in Art History Honours. While finishing off her degree, she saw a need for more art education within her community and started her own business teaching art to children in her garage art studio. Tracy started working at Mentoring Artists for Women’s Art in February of 2008 where she enjoys engaging with MAWA’s dynamic membership and coordinating programs. Tracy is a potter, a painter, a crafter, a mother and life enthusiast.

ARTISTS AND MOTHERS:

FRIDAY NIGHT PANEL/ May 15 / Following the film

GWEN ARMSTRONG / BIOGRAPHY

Working in video, installation and performance, Gwen Armstrong considers it her privilege and responsibility to reveal possibilities for individuals to “map” their own visions within a universe striving to reaffirm its wholeness. She is the 2007 Gold Medal recipient as highest standing graduate, University of Manitoba School of Art, and in 2008 received the M. Charles Cohen Prize in Screenwriting.  

ELVIRA FINNEGAN / BIOGRAPHY

Elvira Finnigan has the good fortune of being an artist and a mother. In 1977, Ms. Finnigan graduated from the University of Manitoba. She has participated in a multiple number of Video/Media production courses through Video Pool in Winnipeg and Pittsburg Filmmakers, Pittsburg from 1998-2005. A multi-media artist, based in Winnipeg, she has made a series of installations and videos based on motherhood and other passages in life. Her current web-based installation at saltwatch.ca, examines salt and light and the passage of time. She has participated in solo and group exhibitions in Canada, Japan and the USA. She has received numerous of grants and awards from the Manitoba Arts Council, Winnipeg Arts Council and the Pittsburg Center for the Arts from 2000 – 2007.

SATURDAY NIGHT PANEL / May 15 / Following the film

KC ADAMS / BIOGRAPHY

Born in 1971, the Winnipeg based artist KC Adams graduated from Concordia University with a BFA and her focus has been the investigation of the relationship between nature (the living) and technology (progress). She works in medium that includes: sculpture, installation, drawing, painting, photography, ceramics, printmaking and kinetic art and also serves as Urban Shaman Gallery Director. She maintains her own website at www.kcadams.net showcasing her work and flash art projects. KC Adams has had several solo exhibitions, most recently Cyborg Hybrids at the Odd Gallery in Dawson City, YK and Modern Fuel in Kingston, ON. She has also been featured in numerous group exhibitions, Cyborg Living Space II, The Language of Intercession at the OBORO Gallery in Montreal, Cyborg Hybrids at the PHOTOQUAI: Biennale des images du monde in Paris, France.

CATHY MATTES / BIOGRAPHY

A freelance Metis contemporary art curator, Cathy Mattes lives in rural Manitoba and is formerly a board member of Urban Shaman. She worked at the Art Gallery of S.W. Manitoba in Brandon and has worked as a freelance curator and writer – curating many shows including “rockstars and wannabes.” She said, “in the last few years children have played a huge role in her work. The challenge of finding balance between work, soccer, daycare and gymnastics” is a huge challenge.