Today we’d like to introduce you to Heather Marie Scholl.
Heather Marie, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I am an artist and activist. I knew from the time I was young that I wanted to be an artist. However, I didn’t fully commit to it until I was in my late 20’s when I arrived in NYC. I grew up in Portland, OR. Born from a father with roots in the Northwest and pascifist traditions and a mom from Arkansas.
I got my BA in Race, Gender and Sexuality. I was passionate about racial justice from a young age and my first protests were as a teenager. After my BA I moved to San Francisco to follow a creative path where I earned my MA in Fashion and Knitwear Design. I moved to Brooklyn, it was here that my different paths began to combine in my artwork and in my activism which leads me to founding Confront White Womanhood.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has been incredibly challenging. Being a person whose vision and personality does not fit in typical paths to success caused me to question myself repeatedly. I have also experienced negative reactions to my work, roadblocks to opportunities, financial failures, and other major difficulties. However, I have continued to come back to faith in my path and faith in what my skills are and how they can help the world.
We’d love to hear more about your organization.
My organization, Confront White Womanhood, is dedicated to educating people about the ways white womanhood is used to enact white supremacy and how as white women we are responsible for our role in this white supremacist culture. We do this through workshops, webinars and seminars. We are most known for our break out session at the Women’s March Women’s Conference in 2017, where we had over 600 people attend two sessions. We were featured in Cosmopolitan and Slate.
In my artistic practice, I am most known for my series Whitework. Whitework examines white women’s roles in white supremacy through whitework embroidery on home decor and clothing items. These works bring light to how white women have supported a system of racial harm and inequality through highlighting my own experiences, family legacies, and historical research. In concert, they create an immersive setting that feels familiar, yet is emotionally and intellectually jarring as each piece addresses a different element of white womanhood. This series is ongoing.
It is my unusual focus on white women that sets me apart from other artists and activists. I am unafraid to own my relationship to this history and take on accountability, modeling new possibilities for others.
What’s your outlook for the industry over the next 5-10 years?
Personally and as an industry as a whole, I see the subjects of art and social change work merge more and more. Where both disciplines feed and enhance each other as we embody big cultural shifts. New futures are possible and with more interwoven disciplines I believe they will emerge.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.heathermariescholl.com
- Email: info@heathermariescholl.com
- Instagram: heathermariescholl
- Other: www.confrontwhitewomanhood.com
Image Credit:
Portfolio shots by Kris Graves
Audience shot no credit
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