Commissions, MAKE

The International Festival of Women Artists began in Houston, Texas in 1987. In 1980 a World Conference of the United Nations Decade for Women was held in Copenhagen. Susan Schwalb, organiser, made an advance trip to Copenhagen where she secured the support of the director of the Ny Carlesberg Glyptotek and the use of the museum's facilities for multi-media events. She liaised with the Danish coordinator Anelise Hansen. Susan Schwalb also organised a nucleus of women artists to function as local coordinators of an International Festival of Women Artists to take place concurrently with the World Conference. The event brought together a vast mosaic of women artists, poets, writers, musicians, performers, dancers, historians and critics from all over the world. The goal of the festival was to experience and discuss all aspects of the work and life of women in the arts on an international scale, focusing on arts rather than feminist issues per se. In July 1985 the United Nations World Conference on Women, which marked the end of the United Nations Decade for Women, took place in Nairobi, Kenya. Scant funding became available for 'Focus International' the arts events for Nairobi, however there was a slide show and postcard exhibition, panel discussions and lectures.