Live Stream! Sunset Salons: Women in the Arts

This event has moved online!

Curators, choristers, actors and admins – on the front lines and behind-the-scenes, some spirited and spectacular women help fuel all aspects of Cincinnati’s dynamic art scene. In honor of Women’s History Month, join a free provocative virtual conversation as select arts leaders discuss specific challenges facing women in the sector, and the significant impact they’re making on the arts across our region.

Featured Panelists

• Biz Young, Filmmaker
• Ernaisja Curry, Actor and member of Actors’ Equity Association
• Julie Montgomery, Executive Director of Linton Chamber Music
• Laura Ann Gentry, owner of LAG Productions, LLC and president of Jazz Alive
• Panel facilitated by Barbara Sferra, Fiber Artist

Schedule

6:00pm – Online stream opens
6:05pm – Featured panelist conversation begins

RSVP

The Sunset Salons: Women in the Arts Live Stream is free to attend. Please RSVP here to let us know you’re coming; a web link to join the live stream will be sent to you directly.

Many thanks to our generous sponsors!

Lite Bite Sponsors:

Drs. Patricia Klein and Reid Hartmann

Dessert Sponsor:

Generous operating support from:

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Featured Panelists Bios

BIZ YOUNG

Biz is an enthusiast above all else. As a production designer, filmmaker, and outdoor admirer, she continues the search for that elusive harmony between her love of the digital and natural worlds. Biz currently works full-time at Barefoot Proximity, runs a feminist film series bombASSbabe (bombassbabe.com) in her spare time, and hosts a variety of workshops for creative womxn, local filmmakers, and new climbers.

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ERNAISJA CURRY

Ernaisja is a Florida native who graduated from the New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts with a Certificate in Acting and received her BFA in Theatre from Adelphi University. Since completing the Bruce E. Coyle Acting Internship with the Tony Award-winning Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, she has performed on stages across Cincinnati/Northern KY and signed with Heyman Talent Agency. When not on stage or screen, she is teaching, directing, and choreographing students as a Teaching Artist. Her favorite recent credits include Skeleton Crew (Shanita), Lawbreakers (Kiara), Neverwhere (Door), Dreamgirls (Michelle Morris), Susan Swayne and the Bewildered Bride (Isabelle), The Comedy of Errors (Luciana), and Othello (Bianca). She is eternally grateful to her family, friends, and mentors for their continuous love, faith, and support. #EquityStrong ernaisjacurry.com

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JULIE MONTGOMERY

Since 2009, Julie has served as Executive Director of Linton Chamber Music. Prior to joining Linton, she worked for the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra as Manager of Artistic Planning for 14 years. She is a graduate of the League of American Orchestra’s Orchestra Management Fellowship Program and completed graduated studies in Arts Administration at Drexel University.

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LAURA ANN GENTRY

Since 1999, Laura’s production company LAG Productions, LLC has produced and promoted jazz events inclusive of small club venues, performing art centers, festivals, and concert series in greater Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky, and Southeast Indiana. As president of Jazz Alive, Inc., a nonprofit, Laura has coordinated educational outreach focused on preservation and advancement of jazz with non-profit arts organizations and educational institutions.  Laura serves as Committee Chair for the Jazz Initiative for Cincinnati – Nancy France Sister City Association, creating a multi-year project for an international exchange. She’s also a council member for We Create Jazz, a women in jazz festival executed in April 2019 with University of Cincinnati-College Conservatory of Music, Jazz Studies Department. Laura has also worked with local, regional, and national jazz artists in project management inclusive of booking agent, tour management, CD releases and media campaigns, and biography composition.

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BARBARA SFERRA

Since 1Barbara became involved with CCAC in 2006 by writing grants as a community volunteer, and subsequently joined the Board of Directors in 2007, where she served as Treasurer from 2009 to 2017. Barbara has over 22 years experience in Human Resources Management, specializing in Employee Relations. She is also a budding fiber artist, specializing in art quilts, using hand-dyed fabrics in the majority of her work. She is a member of the Contemporary Quilt and Fibers Artists Guild (CQAFA), Studio Art Quilt Associates (SAQA), the Weavers Guild of Greater Cincinnati (WGGC), and the Bombshells of Cincinnati.  Her work has appeared in shows at CCAC, Kennedy Heights Arts Center, the Weavers Guild of Greater Cincinnati and the Quilt Study Center & Museum in Lincoln Nebraska. She also curated CCAC’s “Fiber IS Art” exhibit in 2019, which featured artists from the WGGC and SAQA.  Barbara is also passionate about fitness and is a Certified Pilates instructor teaching classes at CCAC, Anchor Wellness and Pendleton Pilates.  She received her Master of Labor and Industrial Relations from Michigan State University, and her Bachelor of Business Administration from Kent State University.