The Art of Entertainment: Women in the Arts

The Art of Entertainment is a podcast show hosted by Raizel Harjosubroto and Tanja Saric, featuring  the stories of various people within the arts. The arts presented this week will center around comedy, music, visual arts, and dance. This week’s show’s theme will be women and will be featuring women in the arts. The following podcasts done by Raizel Harjosubroto, Tanja Saric,  Khalida Thanveer Rixzan, and Heather Taylor-Singh will all be featured on this week’s show.

Raizel Harjosubroto:

How TikTok is helping young women in comedy

“As with many industries, the comedy industry is dominated by men. In this podcast, I explore how women are reclaiming their space in the comedy industry. Long-time improv performer Rayanne Langdon told me that she has seen how women are consistently getting treated differently on and off stage. Behind the stage, some men can behave inappropriately and make women uncomfortable (though Langdon says that it is getting a little better now that the industry is becoming less tolerant of this). On stage, men will claim more space and be louder, forcing some women acts to feel smaller and perform a notch lower than how they usually would. Sometimes, in improv, too, women somehow get pigeon held as a wife or a mother.”

Aisha Bachman (@arbacn) posts skits and comedy bits on her TikTok account.

The 17-year-old currently has over 500,000 followers on TikTok.

Tanja Saric:

How Some Women Are Working To Make Canada’s Music Industry More Inclusive

“Canada’s music industry has come a long way in regards to women’s equality. Nowadays, our Billboard Hot 100 is filled with female artists who are finding great success like Alessia Cara, Jessie Reyez, Avril Lavigne, and Ruth B. However, what we don’t often take in to consideration is the industry’s behind-the-scenes positions like sound technicians, producers, masters, or mixers. These roles continue to be dominated by men, leaving some women feeling as though they don’t belong.

In fact, according to a 2015 survey by Nordicity, only six per cent of women working in Ontario’s music industry are working in production. That is why Canadian electro-pop star Lights and technical director Allyssa Rawes are taking matters in to their own hands. They are working hard to not only make a place for themselves in the industry, but also to help the next generation of women feel welcome in what they would call a “boys club.””

Khalida Thanveer Rixzan:

Ghanwa Shahnawaz: Intersecting Art and Mental health

“Artist Ghanwa Shahnawaz takes listeners on a journey as she paints how her mental health journey intersects with her art. The material delves deep into Shahnawaz’s life as she narrates how she was diagnosed with mental health conditions at 19 and the turbulence that ensued afterward. Her artistic journey was “therapeutic” for her and begins with her enrollment in a fine arts program at Centennial College. She explains the creation of her exhibit “Monster” and how it symbolized her struggle with her mental health. Shahnawaz’s son, Rayhan Baynes, also has a mental health illness and he supports his mother through the lows and highs of her mental health.”

Heather Taylor-Singh:

How meditation and dance can empower you

“With busy schedules, we don’t always have the time or remember the importance of getting in touch with our bodies and taking care of ourselves.

Heather spoke with Ayah Norris, a yoga instructor at Good Space in Toronto. They talked about her journey into yoga teaching and connecting with herself and students. Then, she briefly chatted with Samantha Foster, who works at Canada’s National Ballet School on how the schools provide students with the space to better themselves and share dance with one another.

These two forms of movement seem different, and on first thought, they are. But what connects them is a form of empowerment. Whether it’s self-motivated or through those around us.”

-taken from Heather’s original feature post