"Rooted" Women's Week Zine

Rooted Rooted

Harvard University is located on the traditional and ancestral land of the Massachusett, the original inhabitants of what is now known as Boston and Cambridge. We pay respect to the people of the Massachusett Tribe, past and present, and honor the land itself which remains sacred to the Massachusett People.

TaiRanTang TaiRanTang

Tai Ran Tang is a junior living in Adams House. She has been formally trained in Chinese Ink painting, and has picked up other mediums like acrylics, oils, crayons, pencil etc. As time went on , she has wanted new tools to express myself.

“Art is one of the only things where I do it only for myself, and so the foundations of my artistry is to just make myself happy”

-TaiRanTang

ABOUTTHEART:

This was simply a painting of a scene from the movie "Portrait of a Lady on Fire". It was captured a quality of friendship between women that often tethers into the realm of romanticlove,andwasreallymoving

Goodbye,Orlando

By: Varya Lyapneva

GabrielleMitchell GabrielleMitchell --Bonds Bonds

Myancestors knownandunknown keepme rooteddaily.TheideathatIexistbecauseofthevery perseveranceandpureloveofthosewhocame beforemeisenough,andI’dliketobeawonderful ancestorforthosewhocomeaftermeaswell.

Gabrielle Mitchell-Bonds is a visual artist specializing in figurative painting and drawing. Their work explores themes of identity, African American history, and culture to represent the expansive experiences of Black queer womanhood and their own memories of belonging. Gabrielle also pursues other visual mediums, such as zine-making, collaging,anddigitalart.

“As he pleases” (2023) is an acrylic painting honoring the stories of Black women who were and continue to be deprived of their womanhood through sexual violence, pervasive misogynoir, and historical erasure. This piece pays special attention to the Mothers of Gynecology Anarcha, Lucy, and Betsey enslaved women who were experimented on without consent or anesthesia by America’s proclaimed Father of Gynecology, James Marion Sims. This piece also honors Celia, a 19 year old enslaved woman went on trial for the murder of her enslaver, Robert Newsom, an elderly man that had been repeatedly raping her for the past five years. As Black women are robbed of their very humanity, yet unrightfully claimed by our nation without an ounce of remorse, their narratives continue to be buried underhistory—butthesewomenmakeupournation’sroots. A B O U T T H E A R T

Garden

By: Varya Lyapneva

It rests where my liver is, A Venus flytrap. It waits for a step you miss, Then a silent swirl.

I am gentler than you are, So I get to choose Which plants to water In our garden of Venus.

It’s afternoon teatime, and in porcelain fog, I drop what kills weeds in my cup and hope

I wake up tomorrow

Such a gentle girl: No flytrap, but berries; Just Venus, no swirl.

A

i m e e R a m i r e z A i m e e R a m i r e z

About

Abou

Aimee Ram ience and Global H e about reproduct ationally dabblesin

Origina n ad from a now d ins of birth control an women. Millions rth control method undreds of women bjects for a dangero s for some

Mother

By: Varya Lyapneva

mymotherbrushedmyhairwhenIwas4 andthenagainwhenIwasagainst. ilikeyourskirt—

thankyou,it’smymother’s. iamturning19tomorrow, andIsawmymotherinthemirrortoday. ismiled,andthatwaswhenInoticed. everyyearfromnowon Iwillseehermore andmoreoften withevery“borrowed”sweater.

Hair

By: Varya Lyapneva

iwonderhowoldaretheendsofmyhair,andiwantto knowwhatthey’veseenmethrough:whathappiness andwhatdespair.iremembermymotherandabig kindergartenwomanwhoreplacedherwheniwasso youngbrushingmyhairwithwhatiknowwaslove.for meorformyhair?mymotherhatedwheniwenttoo harshlyonmylocks.shehatedwhenicutanddyedthem andbeggedmetostop.andsheneverhatedwheniwent tooharshlyonmyself.myfatherbrushedmyhaironce, andifeltlikeitwasneversupposedtohappen.hisfingers weresoawkwardlyunsuitableawayfromhiscomputer, tangledinwhatwasalreadytangled.whereveriam,i leaveatraceofwhatdecidedtoleavemyhead,andnoone remembersmyface,butmyblondemessinstead.

Olivia Data Olivia Data

About the Artist:

Olivia Data is a sophomore in Leverett who loves art! Her favorite mediums are acrylic and oil paint, but she loves comedy,dance,music,andcraftsofallkinds.

About the Art:

BodyandBreath-60"x36"

This piece is an exploration of spirituality and rage through women 'sbodies

Outgrown-16"x20"

My community keeps me rooted! I'm from North Dakota, and I've been lucky enough to work for a women ' s rights organization there with the most intelligent, compassionate, powerful women. Learningfromthemhaskeptmegoing.

In debates about transgender women and WOC, White women ' s femininity is often weaponized against marginalized groups. The ideal of a pure, delicate, motherly woman is portrayed as an inherent victim. I wanted to depict the pain of this stigma, both for those it is directed against and weaponized against. We will not allow ourselves to be crammedintoreductivestereotypes;wewillriseabove.

WithagroupofWomenwalkinginlocksteprightbesideme

S i m o n e P e ñ a S i m o n e P e ñ a

About the Artist:

My name is Simone Peña and I’m a sophomore concentrating on government with a secondary in visual art. I'm passionate about public policy and the intersectionality of creative interdisciplinaries. I was raised in Mexico but then moved to Chicago 5 years ago. My parents are the reason that keeps me rooted in my values andessence.

About the Art:

In this 30x30 canvas, I showcase the feeling sexual harassment victims go through, especially due to their inability to speak, be seen, or be heard as a result of a lack of resources and limitation of proficiency in the language for those migrant workers (Shklar 1986). In the upper part of thepainting,there’sacis-whitebusinessmancarryingabag of money representing individuals in power and managers, being able to make a relationship between government partisanship and policy (Rueda 2007). Below the businessman,Ishowthevictimsofdifferentracesunableto speak,seeorhearduetotheinabilitytotakeactionwithout feeling fear. In the background there is a scale that shows an unequal balance. One side benefits those with monetary mobility, while on the other side, there is a group of women from minority racial groups comforting each other due to thecostoftheirsilenceandtheexperiencestheyhavetoget through.

Socials:

IG:@artysspace16004

Lena Ashoosh

Lena Ashoosh

About the Artist:

Lena is a third-year student from Vermont completing a special concentration in Animal Studies. She's illustrated animals ever since she was a child and is fascinated by their interior lives howtheyarethesameanddifferentfromherown.

About the Art: ATHEN A

IwantedtoportrayoneoftheparrotsIworkwith,Athena,ina waythathighlightshowmyPI'sapproachtoscientific researchhasallowedtruth subjectivity andrelationalityto fromconventional Athenahasbeena ncemyfreshman

TBy

W W dra alo I re yo W wo my “Gu I sh to wh wh Bec the t the int t in t me mo nd clo he p e-

whenfacingtheconsequencesofyouractions?Willyounotshudder whengazinguponthedamagedoneandinsecurityraisedbyyour doubt

Whenlightexplodes andthecleavingfollows,whenthestabbingtortureexplodes andthebodyiswrackedinshudders…

andgaslighting?ThelasttimeIrememberfeelingcertainseemsblotted byyourinterrogations:mygrimacingbodythatcontortedacrossthe pavement,filledwithfear, searchingforanygroundbeyondtheimmeasurableanguishand landingonthestars.

bravery.Idoubtyouknowwhatanexplosion

Isleep.Thetormentcannotreachindreams;IrefusetodreamwhenI’m awakesincemystars haveallbeenpressuredtochange.Idoubt

IwilllivelikeIdidbefore:burningbrightereachsuccessivedaywithout fear blotting

i d e n t i d i a dd u l c e g o n z a l e z a r i a s

t e c h n ad u l c e g o n z a l e z a r i a s

HowToNotBeAWoman

By: Varya Lyapneva

Whenhegrittedhisteeth, Iwasawoman.

Inmystrongestspirit, Savoringtheequality. Evil,Iwasonpurpose. Evenoutofduty.

Generationsaheadreliedonmy, Onthecrueltyofmylove.

Asheburiedhisheartinmyhands, Thepowerofspitewasresurrected.

Myhairgrewinlusciousstrings, Chockinghimawayfromthefurtherstep Atlast,Ineededtobeat

Theviolenceoutofmyself.

Unwomanize.Abandonthepoison. Atlast,Iwantedtobekind.

About Our Poets: About Our Poets:

Varya Lyapneva

Varya is an Art History student from Moscow, Russia. She has always been writing creatively, and with transitioning continents, she has also transitioned languages as well. So now Varya explores how differently she thinks and writes in English, rather than Russian, and whether she needs to invent an entirely new style or adapt what she knows to her new grammarandvocabulary.

Sally Ann Williams

SallyAnnisafreshmanatHarvardCollegefromBrooklyn,New York.She lovescreatingartinmanyforms,includingdrawingand sketching,specificallypeople.Sheisalsointerestedincontinuingto learnhowtooilpaintandcreate3-Dmodels.Sheenjoyswriting poemstohelpexpresstheemotionsI’mfeeling!Hermomandclose friendskeepherrooted.

Niyathi Chagantipati

Niyathi Chagantipati is a sophomore at Harvard College studying English and Government. She first engaged with poetry with her body as a spoken word performer. Flash forward four years, she is now writing in conversation with the very people she admired. What keeps Niyathi rooted is God, BTS, and her writing!

saludos!

If you are reading this note, it means that you have reached the end of the first ever Women’s Week Zine, “Rooted!” I hope that you have enjoyed the selection of beautiful poems and artworks interspersed withineachpageasmuchasIdid!

Every artist featured in this Zine is truly one of a kind, inspiring, and talented beyond any measurable caliber. More than just students, theseartistsarestorytellers,visionaries,creators--breathingnewlife from blank canvases and raw paper. Through their work, they invite us to explore new dimensions of identity, resilience, and unity, to understandwhatitmeanstobe“Rooted.”

Accordingly, asweembarkonthisyear’sjourneyofWomen’sWeek,I invite us all to carry the spirit of exploration, humility, and reflection thattheseartworksandpoemsembody.

With that, I must express my deepest gratitudes to the women and gender expansive people who made this publication possible. Much thanks to, Alejandra Rincon and Bonnie Talbert, Assistant Director and Director of the Women’s Center, the crazily talented student artists who submitted to this publication, my fellow interns at the Women’sCenter,andmyfamilywhokeepmerootedalways.

Conmuchoamor, DulceMariaGonzálezArias

HarvardCollegeWomen’sCenter

Thankyou! Thankyou!