Hey, Detroiters, welcome back to Culture Canvas!
This week’s interview is with Shawn Renee Forman, a Detroit artist and retired arts educator with the Detroit Public Schools Community District. Her latest exhibit, titled “Women Hold Up Half the Sky: Keepers of the Earth,” is on display at the Argus Museum in Ann Arbor. The exhibit showcases 50 images from Forman’s travels in the past 16 years, spanning countries as far as Costa Rica, France, Thailand and Ghana. All of the photographs feature women and girls captured in ordinary moments, such as selling food at a market or stretching their arms overhead in a field.
“Women Hold Up Half the Sky” is on display at the museum until the closing reception for the exhibit, scheduled for 6 p.m. on April 25.
I talked to Forman about the collection, the similarities she saw in the women and girls she photographed, and how she became interested in photography.
Editor’s note: This interview was lightly edited for length and clarity.
BridgeDetroit: What was the inspiration behind “Women Hold Up Half the Sky?”
Forman: Just discovering my own self in terms of my female spirit and then the things that as little girls we’re taught to do; a social construct of “You should be pretty, you should have etiquette, you should know how to cook and clean.” Then I thought about the quote that Malcolm X said about Black women being the most disrespected, unprotected and neglected person in America.
Every time I travel somewhere, I consider myself a cultural photographer because part of my mission in life is to document my travels. It (the collection) expands over 16 years in 10 countries. As I was going through my own self-discovery about who I am as a woman, how do I fit in this space…I started seeing all these pictures of other women, and I didn’t realize that I had taken so many shots of women and girls. That’s when I started saying, “Somebody needs to see this.”
BridgeDetroit: Did you see similarities between the women you photographed despite being in different countries and coming from different cultural backgrounds?
Forman: Absolutely. One is self-preservation. Some women are self-preserving because they have to be, whether it’s caring for family or caring for themselves, making sure that a household is functioning properly in terms of, “I gotta have something to eat every day, bills need to be paid.” The other thing I saw was burnout. You start to care for other people and other things so much that you tend to burn yourself out.
There’s times when I’ve been to certain countries where I see women doing their own thing. They’re the bosses of their dreams, they’re entrepreneurs, they’re taking care of business. But then, I’ve also seen the downsides of that where people are not getting momentum to be able to fulfill their dreams in terms of what God intended them to do. At least in America, women have choices. But in Muslim countries that I’ve visited, Asian countries that I’ve visited, there’s not a lot of opportunities for girls and women.
BridgeDetroit: Why was it important to you to capture women in everyday moments?
Forman: It was important so that people understand the role that we play in the things that we do and how we are goddesses of basically every human creation on the planet. We are multifaceted people and that message gets lost.
When I was in Ghana in 2022, there was a hashtag that was spray-painted on walls and houses that said, “#ProtectOurMothers.” I’m all the way across the ocean and they’re saying to protect mothers here and then in the US, we’re going through this whole thing about just protecting women (with the overturning of Roe v. Wade). I was able to capture those images, and two are in the show at Argus.
BridgeDetroit: Who are some of the women you took photos of in Detroit?
Forman: You know what’s funny, I have a self-portrait. The only picture that is from North America is me. You’ve given me an idea that I do need to photograph women in Detroit that’s doing their thing.
BridgeDetroit: I read that you received your first camera, a Pentax K1000, in 1979. Who gave you that camera?
Forman: My mom bought it for me and I asked for it. I’m an only child, so I had a lot of imaginary friends, and I did a lot of creative things to keep me busy. I knew my hands were my gift and I knew that if I could put something in my hands, I could create with that. When kids were asking for board games or dolls or roller skates, I was asking for a violin. I got my first sewing machine at nine. I asked for that camera at 12. I tore up a bunch of rolls of film just learning how to put the film canister in the camera without exposing it to light. I messed up a whole bunch before I got it together. I loved that camera. I used it in high school, used it in college, and learned how to develop some of my own film. I still have it.
BridgeDetroit: What made photography so appealing to you?
Forman: It captures a glimpse in time. Once that time is gone, it’s gone. But with that recording of it, you can always view it, you can talk about it. And then pictures allow you to see things over time as well. If you think about pictures that were taken of you as a baby and then you got your kindergarten, first grade, second grade pictures, you can see growth in people. That’s why I like photography.
BridgeDetroit: What do you hope people take away from the exhibit?
Forman: I want them to appreciate women from all walks of life and to see that, once again, we are multifaceted beings and just to be appreciative of the female spirit and all that it embodies.
As always, have a great week!
Cheers,
Micah
313 Scene
- BridgeDetroit founder Stephen Henderson talked to Michigan’s new poet laureate Dr. Melba Joyce Boyd. The Detroit native is only the third poet laureate to serve Michigan, succeeding Nandi Comer, who held the position from 2023-2024. As Michigan poet laureate, Boyd will connect with Michigan residents, educators and youth across the state to promote literary arts and poetry.
- Juanita Zuniga from El Central Hispanic News wrote about Denisse Lopez-Avila and her husband Carlos Lopez, the owners of the new healthy lifestyle cafe Vamonos in Southwest Detroit.
- Playground Detroit recently opened its “Female Gaze” exhibit, which features paintings, sculpture, photography, figurative and abstract work by more than 30 women. (Detroit Metro Times)
- Detroit-based luxury brand Shinola is releasing two limited-edition watches and a leather record bag designed in honor of late Detroit-born producer, composer and rapper James Dewitt Yancey, best known as J Dilla. Shinola has partnered with Detroit native and multi-platinum superstar Big Sean to announce the release. (Detroit Free Press)
- Chris Brown booked a second date at Ford Field, an Aug. 7 show to go with his previously announced Aug. 8 visit, part of his globetrotting Breezy Bowl XX Tour. Tickets for the new show will go on sale at 10 a.m. April 11 through Ticketmaster. (Detroit Free Press)
- Eminem’s daughter, Hailie Jade Scott, gave birth to her son Elliot Marshall McClintock on March 14, she announced in an Instagram post on April 4. (The Detroit News)
What’s Going on in the D?
- Spot Lite Detroit co-founder Roula David is hosting “Living Room Sessions: A Night of Records and Conversations” at the east side record store/club at 8 p.m. Thursday. The free event is featuring fellow Spot Lite co-founder, DJ and David’s spouse, Jesse Cory.
- Organization Mothering Justice is hosting a kickoff event at 5 p.m. Friday for Black Maternal Health Week. Taking place at Artist Village, the free event will serve as a “spiritual and cultural grounding for the week ahead, honoring ancestors and acknowledging the struggles for Black maternal health justice,” promises the organization.
- Inside Out Literary Arts is hosting a community poetry picnic from noon to 3 p.m. on Saturday at Next Chapter Books. A free community writing workshop kicks off at 1 p.m., with an open mic to follow from 2-3 p.m. People can register here.
- In honor of the first full moon of spring, Batch Brewing Company is hosting a “Fool’s Moon” party at 6 p.m. on Saturday at its Corktown location. Attendees can dress up in costumes related to the “pink moon,” and there’ll be cocktail and food specials. Saturday’s full moon is called the pink moon due to the early spring bloom of a wildflower native to eastern North America: creeping phlox or moss phlox.
- R&B legends the Isley Brothers are performing at the Fox Theatre at 8 p.m. Saturday. Joining the group are fellow R&B singers Angela Winbush and After 7. Tickets are starting at $69 on Ticketmaster.
- Comedian Katt Williams is bringing his Heaven on Earth Tour to Little Caesars Arena at 8 p.m. Saturday. There are still tickets available, beginning at $65.
- In more concert news, hometown musician Jack White is stopping in Detroit for two shows Saturday and Sunday at the Masonic Temple as part of his No Name Tour. Tickets start at $99.
- The Senate Theater is hosting a screening of the 1995 movie, “Desperado,” 8 p.m Saturday in honor of its 30th anniversary. Directed by Robert Rodriguez, the action/Western film stars Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek and Steve Buscemi. Tickets are $6.
