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By : Claire Jones
5 min read
We're Claire and Amaranthia, a Black-invisibly-disabled mother and daughter team sharing our healing journey through our developing business, Sista Creatives Rising. Our mission is to help marginalized women/femme creatives gain accessibility and visibility in the arts to facilitate personal healing.
Together we develop virtual, disability-accessible art shows for BIPOC marginalized women/femmes called "Art & Mind." A survivor of childhood domestic violence, I entered Mount Holyoke College in 1999 as a Frances Perkins Scholar at 32 to develop my mission of helping my mother and other marginalized women. Amaranthia saw me battle against the intergenerational legacy of abuse and was inspired to fight against bullying in her own life.
With each show, we raise funds for Brain Arts Org, a non-profit in Boston supporting underrepresented creatives. In 2021 we raised $751 during our first show, "Reflections of Women, Femmes and Our Mental Health During COVID." This year we're also partnered with Dancing Queerly Boston.
In March 2022, I was diagnosed with B-cell lymphoma, which manifested as a massive tumor on my spine. I had emergency surgery, neuropathy, and a frightening paralysis scare. Six days after launching Sistas, I lost my mobility and was losing it by the hour. In remission, I'm in the 1% to walk again after such surgery. Still recovering, we've decided to relaunch and work on the next "Art & Mind."
Our open call is June 1st. The new show called "I Know Who I Am!" tells stories through documentaries of Black women/femmes who've used art to heal from crises. We're challenging the concept of open calls, where artists must depend on “free exposure”, by working with Brain Arts to compensate artists. The five finalists and two entrepreneurs will receive $200.00.
Follow our journey and get updates @sistacreativesrising.com
Please view our website and subscribe to our newsletter: sistacreativesrising.com
—Claire Jones
Originally published in-print in Boston Compass Newspaper #155 March 2023
Check out all the art and columns of March's Boston Compass at www.issuu.com/bostoncccompass