100 Women We Love

100 Women We Love 2011

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The 100 Women We Love – out artists, elected officials, business leaders, athletes, community activists – are role models for us all. Many are up-and-coming movers and shakers; some are at the zenith of their careers. Some of their achievements change our world and, just as importantly, others improve the world’s perception of out women. They all strive tirelessly to increase our visibility and continue our incredible progress toward equality and justice.

We proudly present the class of 2011, in random order, so each gets her well-deserved turn in the spotlight.

CLARITY HAYNES

In the late ‘90s, visual artist Clarity Haynes founded the Breast Portrait Project, an ongoing, collaborative feminist art project. After painting a nude self-portrait in oil that helped her accept her body, Haynes began doing torso portraits in pastel at women’s festivals and retreats. “Historically, the painted portrait signifies prestige, beauty and social power. I choose to portray women’s real bodies, which are often invisible in this culture,” she explains, adding, “My work is an expression of the pride that we can and should feel about ourselves, the space we take up in the world, and our divine fierceness.” Haynes’s work has been shown in solo exhibitions at Brooklyn’s Tabla Rasa Gallery, Bogigian Gallery at Wilson College, and Artists’ House Gallery in Philadelphia; and in group exhibitions at the ‘temporary Museum, the Allentown Art Museum and Hopkins House Gallery of Contemporary Art in New Jersey. –CM

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