Women In Action, Making An Impact!
In celebration of Women’s History Month (March), our Antidote Newsletter journalist, Samantha, has sat down to interview five local DMV women who are making a difference in their communities through their own introspective paths and creative career choices. You can find each interview using the arrows at the bottom of this page. Be sure to check out these lovely creatives links to their upcoming and ongoing projects!
This is Alexis Tyson! (she/them)
Also known as Twz, is a contemporary artist and curator based in Baltimore, Maryland (born and raised). In both spaces of curating and painting, Alexis’s work often reflects themes of community, identity and a vibrant inner world. They believe that art is healing, being a means of mental diffusion and expression. One of their biggest hopes with their art is to be able to resonate with complex human emotions on a deep level. They also hope to open up a youth’s program for Arts education in Baltimore city, after graduating college. Alexis is curently an Art Director for Love Groove Festival.
“It [the subconscious mind] comes up a lot in my artwork. I think I became aware of it at a pretty young age. Shoutout to my parents for always putting me in spaces to better articulate and understand myself, like art camp...”
This is Sasa Aakil! (she/her)
Sasa Aakil is a Multimedia Artist, Writer, and the 2021 Montgomery County Youth Poet Laureate. She is a potter, painter, poet, print maker, and bassist living and working in Wheaton, Maryland. She has been featured in the Washington Post, as well as on WTOP for her work on the ‘A Man Was Lynched Yesterday’ Project in 2020. She has won numerous awards in writing and was published in I Am the Night Sky and Other Reflections by Muslim American Youth in 2019. Sasa’s work is included in the 2018 Scholastic Best Teen Writing Anthology. Sasa has been active in the DC art community since age 13 and is now pursuing a degree in Fine Arts at Howard University. Sasa now hosts her very own open mic series : If All The Pens Were Trees at the American Poetry Museum in Brookland, DC.
"...Making art helps me deal with and process all of these emotions. My work is a way to be a voice for justice, my way of at least doing something. "
This is Zsameria Rayford! (she/her)
Zsameria is a passionate environmentalist and stylish fashionista who created a brand SwapDC to encourage more eco-conscious shopping habits through clothes swapping and crafty workshop pop-up events. Since its debut in 2015, SwapDC has successfully recycled over 12 tons of clothing and donated even more to local shelters, that’s over 24,000 lbs. Zsameria's mission is to bring awareness to the consequences of consumerism on our environment and our culture.
“In the past, whenever I would go to recycling events in D.C. I noticed that the demographics were mostly white people, mainly white women. I didn't see a lot of people who looked like me at these important events, and I decided I wanted to change that."
This is Shindreia Chase! (she/her)
also known as Dre, Dreia, Shindoula, and Shinny to those close to her, Shindreia is a west Baltimore native who discovered she wanted to be a doula since age 6. She has a love for the arts, nature, and all things ancestral. Shindrea obtained her Bachelors in Biology from Virginia State University, and went on to work in special education and behavioral health for 9 years. She is now the founder and owner of Mpenzi Tundae Holistic Care. This collective provides a variety of services to assist those on the holistic path through their human experience.
"...there’s always going to be something hard or challenging that we’re asked to deal with, but the beauty of life is having the ability to find joy, even amongst those challenges."
This is Bria Edwards! (she/her)
She is a painter, photographer, graphic designer, and a Washington, D.C. native with a B.F.A. in Graphic Design from St. John’s University. Through her art and conducting several surveys, she strives to debunk the monolithic myths about Black people, using her artistic practice to create a space for Black people and present Black life in an honest, multilayered, and truthful manner. In 2021, she was selected for the juried invitational, “Inside Outside, Upside Down”, a part of the 100th anniversary celebration for The Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C. Since then, she has been invited to participate in several exhibitions and continues to grow and expand her career.