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Ladyfest 2000 Collection

Call Number

MSS.360

Date

2000-2001, inclusive

Creator

Stinson, Beth (Role: Collector)
Wynkoop, Kanako (Role: Collector)
Herschelman, Tina (Role: Collector)

Extent

1 Linear Feet in 3 binders, 1 box

Language of Materials

Materials are in English.

Abstract

The Ladyfest 2000 collection includes photographs, negatives, paste-ups, and ephemera associated with Ladyfest 2000, a non-profit, feminist, music and arts festival that took place in Olympia, Washington in 2000.

Historical Note

Ladyfest 2000 was a non-profit, community-based event organized by and for women to showcase, celebrate and encourage the artistic, organizational and political work and talents of women. Taking place in Olympia, Washington from August 1 to August 6, 2000, Ladyfest featured performances by bands, spoken word artists, and writers, as well as workshops, panels, art shows and dance parties.

The inspiration for Ladyfest arose in part when some former members of the feminist Riot Grrrl movement were interviewed for Seattle's Experience Music Riot Grrrl Retrospective oral history project in 1999. Looking back at their participation in Riot Grrrl, and in light of the sexual assaults that had happened at the 1999 Woodstock festival, they were motivated to create a festival that created a safe and inspirational space for women's performance and activism.

Ladyfest was organized and run entirely by volunteers. Initial meetings began in fall 1999. By the third meeting in January 2000, around 35 prospective organizers attended, and committees on Budget, Volunteer coordinating, Booking, Merchandise, Workshops, Visual Art, Performance, Documentation and Web Site Creation had been formed. The festival drew over 2,000 attendees, and included performances by Bratmobile, Sleater-Kinney, The Gossip and Cat Power. Workshops were given on auto mechanics, letterpress, gardening, and dismantling racism. Other events included a fashion show, a drag show, art openings, and a sewing circle. Ladyfest was a woman-run event, but all were welcome to attend. Events listed as "ladies only" were open to all women, including women who identified as men, and ladies who were born male. Since 2000, over 100 Ladyfest festivals inspired by Ladyfest 2000 have taken place worldwide, including in Australia, France, Indonesia, South Africa, and Switzerland. The meeting minutes have been archived at the Ladyfest website (http://www.ladyfest.org/planning/index.html#1230).

Arrangement

This collection arrived with no discernible order and the archivist divided it into four series:

Series I: Photographic Material Series II: Beth Stinson Material Series III: Media Series IV: Data Storage

Series I: Photographic Material

The archivist arranged this series alphabetically by last name of the person who donated the photographic material, if known, and the first name if not known. Some photographs' source is unidentified and they are marked as such.

Series II: Beth Stinson Material

The archivist arranged this series alphabetically by genre of material.

Series III: Media

The archivist arranged this series into subseries by genre, and then alphabetically by the title originally printed on the media itself.

Series IV: Data Storage

This series consists of two unidentified zip disks.

Scope and Contents

This collection consists of materials collected and produced in conjunction with Ladyfest 2000 in Olympia, Washington. The photographic materials were solicited from participants by Ladyfest organizer Tina Herschelman. Organizer Kanako Wynkoop gathered the material together, and organizer Beth Stinson added her own contributions from her time as an organizer and donated the collection to Fales.The collection is divided into four series.

Series I: Photographic Materials

This series consists of photographs sent to Ladyfest organizers. Some of the photos are of artwork and goods that artists hoped to display or sell at Ladyfest, and the vast majority of the photos are candid shots taken at the events of Ladyfest 2000. Photographs, negatives, contact sheets, and slides document musical and artistic performances, as well as more casual moments of the festival. The archivist labeled the files with the name of the person who sent the materials, if known.

Series II: Beth Stinson Materials

These materials include ephemera, paste-ups, and mock-ups of festival booklets and ephemera generated in conjunction with Ladyfest that Beth Stinson, one of the organizers of the festival, collected.

Series III: Media

This series consists of digital video and audio tapes documenting the planning process and the performances at Ladyfest 2000.

Series IV: Data Storage

This series consists of two unlabeled zip disks.

Conditions Governing Access

Materials are open to researchers. Please contact the Fales Library and Special Collections, fales.library@nyu.edu, 212-998-2596.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright (or related rights to publicity and privacy) for materials in this collection was not transferred to New York University. Permission to use materials must be secured from the copyright holder. Please contact the Fales Library and Special Collections, fales.library@nyu.edu, 212-998-2596.

Preferred Citation

Published citations should take the following form: Identification of item, date (if known); Ladyfest 2000 Collection; MSS 360; box number; folder number; Fales Library and Special Collections, New York University Libraries.

Provenance

This collection was donated to the Fales Library & Special Collections by Elizabeth Stinson in 2012 and 2013. Most of the collection consists of materials mailed by festival attendees to festival organizer Tina Herschelman after the festival was over. These materials were stored by festival organizer Kanako Wynkoop at her clothing store Dumpster Values in Olympia until they were brought to New York by festival organizer Elizabeth Stinson and donated to NYU's Fales Library & Special Collections. Other materials were donated by Stinson from her own organizational files in 2013.

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

Audiovisual and born-digital materials have not been preserved and are unavailable to researchers.

Related Materials

Teresa Carmody Ladyfest 2000 Collection (MSS.389)

Collection processed by

Rachel Greer with Lisa Darms, 2014.

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-08-20 17:13:23 -0400.
Using Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language: Description written in English

Repository

Fales Library and Special Collections
Fales Library and Special Collections
Elmer Holmes Bobst Library
70 Washington Square South
2nd Floor
New York, NY 10012