Upbeat pop music floated through Anderson as local women and femme artists and businesses gathered in Anderson forum to share their work. This crowd was put together by Campus Pride and Gender Programs in an event called “Femme Fair.”
11 local artists were featured with a variety of crafts from spices to body lotions to jewelry on March 24, in the middle of Women’s History Month. Coordinator of Campus Pride and Gender Programs Faith Estelle-Velez made it a goal to bring back this event to highlight local artists.
“The overall goal is to celebrate women, and femme, and gender diverse artists and small business owners in our local community, and maybe they have a sale or two, or maybe they just get more exposure,” Estelle-Velez said.
Jamelah Cooper, founder of local jewelry businesses So Me by Jamelah, was drawn to this space by the supportive nature for women in small businesses.
“I love to share my art and my heart anytime I can, but especially with women-led events or centered events,” Cooper said.
Cooper was not the only vendor that the welcoming environment appealed to. Virginia Griffin of Virginia’s All Purpose Seasoning began her spice business to help feed the homeless and emphasized the importance of the community to her work.
“I came here because of the environment and the diversity and to be part of Minnesota,” Griffin said.
This fair brought artists from across the Hamline-Midway and the greater Twin Cities area to Hamline’s campus.
“I wanted more connection between community and students, and I think there are lots of ways to do that, but an easy way is to bring those folks here,” Estelle-Velez said.
However, this event was not just about connecting the community. The focus on women and femme artists stems from the Campus Pride and Gender Programs history. While the center has undergone several name changes over the past few years to cover a more gender diverse ground, it began as the Women’s Resource Center. Estelle-Velez hoped to recognize the diverse range of individuals the center hopes to serve.
“My big goal for this space is to start balancing our program offerings in a way that feels reflective of the space’s history as the Women’s Resource Center and also as a LGBTQ+ Center so that students, more women and femme students and our gender diverse and queer students, known this is a space on campus that is supporting all of them,” Estelle-Velez said.
Estelle-Velez plans to continue hosting similar events to give students a chance to test the waters on being an artist or small business owner.
“I hope to give students a chance, who have never thought about potentially starting a small business or wanting to use their skills or craft in a way that you know they can put their passion into action and support themselves,” Estelle-Velez said.
Cooper never foresaw that she would become an artist, but now she is visiting local art fairs and promoting her unique jewelry across social media.
“I didn’t anticipate being an artist ever, and to know me three and a half years ago, you never would’ve said that, so don’t limit yourself. You never know what you can do if you just try,” Cooper said.
