Women in the Arts

I have blogged previously about Women in Music  and although the official calendar date has passed for Women’s History Month, I would like to share my experience from a forum sponsored by the Library of Congress.

Leaders in the Arts was a conversation held in the beautiful Members Room on March 22, 2017, with Librarian Carla Hayden and three leaders from the Washington DC arts community.  It was wonderful and reassuring to hear their different stories and challenges they faced while pursuing their careers.

If I were to create a word cloud, two words prominently displayed would be mentor and perseverance. In our experience, the passion for the art is ignited somewhere and sometime, but the road ahead can be full of obstacles and barriers.  Hearing Marin Alsop, Deborah F. Rutter and Molly Smith describe events in their lives and their determination to share their passion and vision with anyone who is interested was uplifting and reassuring to me.

Coming to the NLS Music Section every day is a reminder that we all share the same passion for music and every effort should be made to provide access for all.

Sometimes a small reminder helps one to focus on your good fortune. I am happy to have had this reminder.