Origins
In 2018, County of Santa Clara County Supervisors began a conversation about how women are represented in public spaces and endorsed a plan for artworks that commemorate their achievements. In 2020, the Office of Women’s Policy launched Womanhood, a project that will honor the historic contributions of women across all intersectional identities and acknowledging that this region was originally occupied by the Ohlone and Muwekma Ohlone people.
RECOGNIZING THE HISTORIC CONTRIBUTIONS OF SANTA CLARA COUNTY WOMEN
Womanhood is a public art and digital media project that will commission interactive, educational, and accessible artifacts and public artworks to promote the historical recognition and representation of women. The goal of the project, which was launched and supported by the County of Santa Clara, is to ensure equity and inclusion of women from all economic, employment and cultural backgrounds by artfully highlighting their critical roles in the region and beyond.
The Team
She / Her
BARBARA GOLDSTEIN
Project Lead
Urban Explorer, Optimist,
Lateral Thinker
WOMAN INFLUENCE:
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Former Supreme Court Justice
She / Her
AMANDA RAWSON
Project Manager / Research Director
San Jose Native, Art Historian, Outdoor Addict
WOMAN INFLUENCE:
Lisa Fernandez
Olympic Softball Player
She / Chi / Em
QUYNH-MAI NGUYEN
Creative Director
Occasional Poet, Social Practice Artist, Community Organizer
WOMAN INFLUENCE:
Ali Wong
Comedian, Writer, Actress
She / Her
ANNABEL MANGOLD
UX Designer / Strategist
Futurist, Cookbook Reader, Wabi-Sabi
WOMAN INFLUENCE:
Sally Mann
Photographer
She / Her
MIRANDA CHANG
Visual Designer
Adventurer, Multimedia Explorer, Snack Enthusiast
WOMAN INFLUENCE:
Kristi Yamaguchi
Figure Skater
ADVISORY COMMITTEE
PROTIMA PANDEY, Director of Office of Women’s Policy
TAMARA ALVARADO, Program Officer, David and Lucille Packard Foundation
DIANNE MCKENNA, aaa
WORKING GROUP
PROTIMA PANDEY, Director of Office of Women’s Policy
TAMARA ALVARADO, Program Officer, David and Lucille Packard Foundation
DIANNE MCKENNA, aaa
WHY NOW
MAKING THE CASE FOR WOMANHOOD NOW.
Women have always been at the forefront of building and caring for society, holding its stories, and doing its essential work. And yet history has often omitted women, particularly women of color, from recognition. This project is an opportunity to reclaim women’s role in our region as we reconsider issues of representation and cultural equity. Womanhood will employ artists from all disciplines as storytellers, revealing women’s histories as trailblazers, artists, explorers, and essential workers.
Each year the project will commission artists to create works that illuminate women’s stories, build interest, and stimulate community engagement. Artists-in-Residence will create temporary and online artworks and mentor youth digital storytelling workshops. An online mapping platform will enable community members to identify locations where women’s contributions may be recognized through public artworks, naming and renaming of significant sites. A permanent digital archive will connect the projects to place, engage the public, and promote education, exploration, and play.