Artistories on KXCI – February 2, 2020
Lisa Bowden — Kore Press
Lisa Bowden and the child who made her a mother
In this episode of Artistories, we hear from Lisa Bowden, Executive Director of Kore Press Institute, who speaks at length about the storytelling series, Notes from the Motherfield Live (the next performance being March 6). Lisa talks about curating each six-woman panel of radical, truth-telling mothers and what a powerful experience it for the story tellers, and also for the audience. We talk about the intentional decision to take the stories from the page to the stage, the importance of the venue–the Jewish History Museum–as an intimate space of anti-oppression (seating only 100 people at a time), and the power of deep listening. Lisa also shares a few descriptions of the kinds of motherhood stories one might hope to hear, including a fierce tale of self-decolonization from Lane Santa Cruz, who currently serves as Ward 1’s Councilperson, among other things. We refer briefly to Kore Press Institute’s mission and history, including the book Letters to the Future: Black WOMEN / Radical WRITING, and assert opinions about where feminisms in the United States are now and where they need to go.
