To celebrate the 125th anniversary of women winning the right to vote in Colorado — the culmination of decades of grassroots organizing and political activism in living rooms, churches, union halls, farmers' alliances and local organizations around the state — the Center for Colorado Women’s History at the Byers-Evans House and Womxn's March Denver are holding the 2018 Women's Suffrage Poster Contest.
“Imagery from the first wave of feminism and the struggle for suffrage are certainly inspiring, but we don’t see in them the diverse faces that make up our modern understanding of intersectional feminism,” explains Jillian Allison, director of the Center for Colorado Women’s History. “We want to update those images to reflect the movement that exists in the current moment.”
Submissions must be sent by Friday, December 14, to historycolorado.org/womenshistorypostercontest (where you can also find more details on the contest). The winning entries may be used in future exhibits at the Center for Colorado Women’s History; selected posters will also be distributed for free at the Womxn's March Denver on January 19, 2019.
And Womxn's March Denver is looking not just for a poster image, but also for artists and speakers to perform at the rally in Denver's Civic Center Park, addressing the event's theme of "Listen. Unite. Act."
Here's the fine print from the Womxn's March Denver Leadership Team on submitting your proposal:
Speeches must be no longer than 2 minutes in length.The deadline to submit an online application to the Speakers & Artists page of the Womxn's March Denver website is midnight, Tuesday, December 18. Those selected will be notified on January 8, 2019; the day's events, including rallies before and after the march, are expected to last two hours, according to organizers.
Performances must be no longer than 3 minutes in length.
Must follow submission process of using the Google form including submit your family-friendly speech or artistic idea for review by a panel of 3 community leaders on the 2019 Womxn’s March Denver organizing team (Regan Byrd, Brenda Herrera-Moreno, and Angela Astle). Submissions will not be accepted via email.
You must provide your own transportation and lodging to the event, and be available in advance of January 19 for a meet & greet at a place and date TBD between January 12 and 15 in Denver with the march team and other artists/speakers.
No prior speaking/performing history is necessary, but must be comfortable speaking in front of a large family-friendly group.
While we don’t wish to censor what you are speaking or sharing about, we do hope to include voices that speak to a healing and optimistic tone.
“While it would take many days — even months — of listening to cover all of the challenges people face and learn about the existing nonprofits that are serving womxn and girls in marginalized populations, we intend to elevate these voices at the 2019 Womxn’s March on Denver. It is only by listening, uniting and then acting together that we will rise up against the forces of oppression to build a more welcoming and inclusive community,” says Angela Astle, member of the 2019 Womxn’s March Denver Leadership Team and executive producer and founder of AthenaProjectArts.org.
Find out more about the 2019 Womxn's March Denver here.