{"id":1650,"date":"2016-12-09T18:36:58","date_gmt":"2016-12-09T18:36:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lbpost.com\/articles\/life\/long-beach-artists-to-capture-stories-of-american-women-en-route-to-million-women-march-in-d-c\/"},"modified":"2016-12-09T18:36:58","modified_gmt":"2016-12-09T18:36:58","slug":"long-beach-artists-to-capture-stories-of-american-women-en-route-to-million-women-march-in-d-c","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/hi-lo\/long-beach-artists-to-capture-stories-of-american-women-en-route-to-million-women-march-in-d-c","title":{"rendered":"Long Beach Artists To Capture Stories of American Women En Route To Million Women March in D.C."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"RoadToTheAmericanWoman\"<\/p>\n

A postcard the duo has produced for the Road to the American Woman project.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

One day after president-elect Donald Trump is sworn into office and officially becomes the 45th president of the United States January 20, millions of women will march in protest across the country, including at the nation\u2019s capital, during a planned Million Women March. Two Long Beach artists will set out on a road trip leading up to inauguration weekend where they will try to capture the essence of being female in America and tell the untold stories of those women they meet.<\/p>\n

Long Beach residents Niko Galvez and Alyssandra Nighswonger will embark on a multi-week journey through the middle of the country to investigate the state of women in the United States, documenting those encounters and finally compiling it into a film to preserve their trip and to share with others.<\/p>\n

Galvez said that their project, Road to the American Woman, will undoubtedly capture a vast array of viewpoints and experiences, but restarting the conversation, something fueled by the election of Trump last month, is an important step toward the future of women in this country. They hope to compile their trip into a documentary that may be screened when they return home.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere might be some people out there that have some super poignant answers about what it means to be an American woman but I think that answer won\u2019t come until after the film and I think that\u2019s the next step,\u201d Galvez said. \u201cWe\u2019ve gathered all of our hopes and our dreams and our fears and we\u2019ve started this conversation, with that, how do we unpack what\u2019s defined us and how do we redefine American woman moving forward?\u201d<\/p>\n

Like any project, there are costs associated with traveling cross country by car for a multi-week tour. They\u2019re launching a crowd-funding effort <\/a>in hopes of raising the $6,000 they need to purchase the video and audio equipment they need to document the trip, and also to pay for travel expenses. However, if they don\u2019t reach their mark Galvez has pledged to forge ahead even if it means using credit cards to get to DC.<\/p>\n

\"NikoAllyssandra\"The duo have had outreach from multiple city council members leading up to the project\u2019s launch with Second District Councilwoman Jeannine Pearce hosting an event to kick-off their project<\/a> at the East Village Arts Park December 12.<\/p>\n

Pearce said that she immediately got behind the project when she learned it would put Long Beach artists in Washington D.C during what could be a watershed moment for women\u2019s rights, but also because of the value of the project going forward.<\/p>\n

She recalled her own mother\u2019s advocacy on behalf of the LGBT rights and increased efforts in AIDS research and watching Muslim women in Houston, Texas march in hijabs in the wake of 9\/11. Women\u2019s stories and capturing them for future generations to experience can be inspiring, much like her mother\u2019s actions, and being part of them inspired her, Pearce said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a mom, as a woman, I think that art is a great way to share our story and to learn from another and have anyone be able to look back at a place and time in history when women feel like their rights might be threatened,\u201d Pearce said. \u201cTo have my daughter go back and look at history and learn from that and learn from the women that are going through this today is a unique opportunity and I think that\u2019s why storytelling is so important.\u201d<\/p>\n

Galvez said that having the support of a local leader like Pearce has provided a sense of validation to their project. It will also provide much needed chairs and refreshments for the event that will serve as a launchpad for their crowdfunding effort.<\/p>\n

Validation aside, the concern had been there since election night. Whether it was the threat to women\u2019s reproductive rights, body-shaming former Miss Universe winners or the the general rhetoric used toward women during his campaign, there was plenty of conceivable things for women in the US to be concerned about.<\/p>\n

One of, if not the most pressing concern among women she\u2019s spoken with since November 9th is what a Trump presidency means for the victims of sexual assault in particular.<\/p>\n

She referenced the Access Hollywood clip that surfaced a week before the election that showed Trump bragging about groping women and the lack of universal outrage that followed it. The indifference exhibited by some, she said, has potentially made it harder for women to come forward about a subject that is already difficult to talk about.<\/p>\n

Galvez said that his election certainly shed light on the fact that maybe the fight for equality and acceptance was not yet over and she hopes that this documentary will be part of a larger national conversation that stokes that debate once more.<\/p>\n