Support Women Artists Now!
From WITASWAN to SWAN Day to International SWANs
The story of International SWANs – now in its 21st year — has three distinct phases.
Phase 1: The Creation of the SWAN Acronym (2002-2007)
The history of the “Support Women Artists Now” movement can be traced back to a moment of shock, followed by determination, and then enduring hope.
In June 2002, longtime feminist activist Jan Lisa Huttner wrote a letter to the New York Times responding to their article about the “Celluloid Ceiling.” Recognizing that the underrepresentation of women in the art world was damaging for everyone, Jan decided to confront the problem head-on. When the Times published Jan’s letter, a movement was born. Thus “Support Women Artists Now” itself began when a writer, alone at her desk, reached out to an audience (in this case, a world filled with potential readers).
Jan took the “Celluloid Ceiling” problem to her friends in the Chicago Branch of the American Association of University Women (AAUW), and soon after, she was named Director of Leadership Development for AAUW-Illinois. She used this new role to crisscross Illinois, speaking out about how the lack of women filmmakers resulted in poor representation of women – both qualitatively and quantitatively – on the Big Screen. In 2004, the AAUW-Illinois Board decided to create the WITASWAN project (Women in the Audience Supporting Women Artists Now), with Jan – now Director of College/University Relations – as its leader.
In this phase, Jan not only posted on her own site Films for Two: The Online Guide for Busy Couples (with the URL http://www.films42.com), but also freelanced for additional print publications and websites including DVD Wolf, Forward, IWPA PenPoints, JUF News, Picklebird, Really Good Films, Reel Chicago, Women’s eNews, and the World Jewish Digest. In addition, she now wrote a regular column for The Woman’s Newspapers (with the URL http://www.womanspapers.com/) which included CHICAGO WOMAN, NORTH SHORE WOMAN, NORTHWEST INDIANA WOMAN, SOUTH SUBURBAN WOMAN, and TAMPA BAY WOMAN as well.
Phase 2: The Birth of International SWAN Day (2007-2020)
In 2007, Jan invited Martha Richards – Executive Director of a 501(c)(3) called WomenArts (with the URL http://www.WomenArts.org) – to attend AAUW-Illinois’s annual convention to co-present a session with her called “Building a Culture to Call Our Own: Our Power as Women in the Audience.”
Their common desire to empower women inspired Jan and Martha to establish an annual event that could serve both artists and audiences all around the world. After the convention, with the blessing of AAUW-Illinois, Jan and Martha announced their plan to celebrate the first “International SWAN Day” on March 29, 2008 (as the crowning touch to Women’s History Month).
From 2008 through 2020, the “Support Women Artists Now” movement coalesced around International SWAN Day. Under Martha’s ardent administrative management, activists – comprised of women artists and women-lead audiences – have now celebrated thousands of International SWAN Day events in 36 different countries. This extraordinary collaboration has helped to create ever-greater gender parity for women in the arts, always with the goal of bringing women into full and equal participation.
During this period, Jan continued to freelance, while also writing regular reviews for a film section Martha created for her on WomenArts. She created her first WordPress blog called The Hot Pink Pen (with the URL http://www.TheHotPinkPen.com) which was solely dedicated to the work of women directors &/or screenwriters (whereas Films42 also included many posts about films by men as well). With Martha’s help, Jan also self-published her first book Penny’s Picks: Fifty Films by Women Filmmakers.
After moving to Brooklyn in 2012, Jan phased out her original Films42 site, and developed a second blog called FF2 Media (with the URL http://www.ff2Media.com). She simultaneously reached out to Metro NYC’s top film schools – Columbia/Barnard, Hunter, NYU, Rutgers, and Pratt – to recruit young women writers who collectively covered every film by a woman director &/or screenwriter that opened in Manhattan every week on a weekly basis.
During this period, Jan and the FF2 team penned thousands of pieces dedicated to promoting the work of women filmmakers. Their coverage was international and intersectional, and included all film genres. While all the weekly film reviews were still posted on The Hot Pink Pen, FF2 Media also enabled FF2 team members to post more Features, Interviews, and Opinion/POV pieces. The team also began covering more events including concerts, dance recitals, film festivals, gallery openings, live theatre performances, and museum exhibitions, including, of course, full coverage of our own local SWAN Day events.
Meanwhile, every year brought a new set of global SWAN Day events on the last Saturday of every March – primarily films, but also concerts, gallery crawls, and other opportunities – in collaboration with a growing set of international allies from Metro NYC (Jan’s home base) and San Francisco (Martha’s home base) to overseas partners in Bulgaria to Kenya and beyond.
Phase 3: Making International SWANs Bigger & Better Post-Quarantimes (2020+)
In June 2020, Martha stepped back from her role as Executive Director of WomenArts (although she continues to serve as President of WomenArts, providing guidance and direction on selected projects including multiple SWAN Day-related activities).
As such, after a period of transition, FF2 Media expanded beyond film to broaden the scope of what it means to be a woman artist. FF2 Media expanded to feature women artists in five major categories: applied arts, cinematic arts, literary arts, performing arts, and visual arts. Under Jan’s leadership, the FF2 team has organized, promoted, and supported women artists in an interdisciplinary approach that truly celebrates the full spectrum of women in the arts.
FF2 Media’s expansion also inspired Jan to rethink SWAN Day. After all, shouldn’t we celebrate women artists every day of the year rather than just once in March? Of course! During this period, Jan began hosting and organizing events throughout the year in addition to hosting the traditional SWAN Day event on the last Saturday of March.
Starting in 2020, International SWANs hosted virtual events including the 50th anniversary celebration of Lady Sings the Blues, The Power of the Dog International Women’s Day Q&A, a Zoom-based studio tour featuring NYC painter L.C. Armstrong, a Zoom-based conversation with Canadian Quebecois folk group Germaine, and an online celebration of the life of Queen Anne Boleyn.
As the world slowly began to recover from the COVID crisis, International SWANs also resumed hosting in-person events in celebration of SWAN Day. In 2023, Metro NYC’s 15th Annual SWAN Day took place at the SVA Theatre in Chelsea. This event featured wonderful short films including Midas’ Son, 6:18 to Omaha, and A Man of his Time followed by a Q&A with the filmmakers (featuring Academy Award Nominated actress Estelle Parsons).
In 2024, International SWANs celebrated its Sweet 16 by honoring the legacy of painter Margaret Keane, which included a Zoom-based Q&A with Big Eyes screenwriter (and Golden Globe Award Winner) Larry Karaszewski and Big Eyes set photographer Leah Gallo.
In 2025, at the 17th annual International SWAN Day celebration, we showed Ghost (1990) in both New York and Chicago, honoring actress Demi Moore’s unprecedented resurgence in Coralie Fargeat’s 2024 film The Substance.
MISSION STATEMENT
The all-woman FF2 Media team is global, intersectional, and intergenerational. Prior experience with film distribution will now be applied across all media, encouraging conversations that generate audience enthusiasm and lead to greater financial support for working artists (through ticket sales as well as direct purchases of works of art).
iSWANs respect consumer power: If women show distributors and suppliers that they want more work by women artists, more resources will flow to women artists across all physical and digital spaces. Do we believe this? Yes, we do! Join us in Supporting Women Artists Now!
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FF2 Media (with the URL http://www.ff2Media.com) and International SWANs (with the URL http://www.iSWANs.info) are two halves of a cohesive whole powered by FF2 Media LLC. While FF2 Media provides content for the modern reader, International SWANs gathers us in community through events, merchandise, logos, and public outreach. With both sides working in tandem, our mission of supporting women artists now is stronger than ever!
Jan Lisa Huttner is the President of FF2 Media LLC, as well as the Editor-in-Chief of FF2 Media. SWAN®,International SWANs®, Support Women Artists Now®, and FF2 Media® are all registered trademarks owned by FF2 Media LLC.
Our SWAN was born on October 2, 2004 at the AAUW-Illinois District 3 Convention at Illinois Valley Community College in Oglesby.
We hope you enjoy our 32 second “elevator dance” on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laxl9PKOYkA
This page is dedicated to Marla Kim Benziger, President, AAUW-Illinois (2004-2006). Her memory is a blessing!
From Left: Linda Henning-Cohen (President Elect), Marla Kim Benziger (Immediate Past President), & Jan Lisa Huttner (Director of International Relations) at the AAUW-Illinois Spring Convention in Bloomington (IL) on 4/28/07.