Zebra Misc

Memories & Musings: On Creative Partnerships

(Photo: Steven Halperson)

Alexandria, VA – I can’t take credit for this idea, at least not full credit. It was sparked by a Facebook comment by Kelly MacConomy and a recent fundraiser for MetroStage. Kelly is Arts Editor for The Zebra and Director of Outreach for the Del Ray Artisans. Kelly mentioned my in-home gallery in her post and included a link to an article in the November 22, 2024 edition of New York Times Style Magazine on home galleries.

This past November, MetroStage Producing Artistic Director Carolyn Griffin announced, “Dine Out at Royal Restaurant AND support METROSTAGE.” The Royal Restaurant was hosting a special evening for MetroStage patrons and friends and would donate 20 percent of sales to MetroStage’s Capital Campaign.

MetroStage, a professional not-for-profit theater company, is raising funds for its theater that will anchor the new Arts and Culture District in Old Town North. Carolyn Griffin has been with MetroStage since its founding in 1984. She was recognized as a Living Legend of Alexandria in 2007.

The Backstory of Serenity Gallery

When COVID-19 severely limited opportunities for exhibiting my work, I decided to create my own in-home gallery. I enlisted the help of my son-in-law Tom Mills to install picture hanging molding and local architect Anila Angjeli of Aline Architecture ([email protected]) to design the track lighting.

The part of the story that’s especially exciting for me is a time when serendipity came through like a thunderbolt, and one and one came together to add up to our first creative partnership. And that is where I’ll take credit.

For two consecutive years, I walked alongside Jane Plitt in Alexandria’s Scottish Christmas Walk along with The Zebra newspaper team. Jane is the founder and director of the National Center of Women’s Innovations (NCWI). I told Jane about my idea for creative partnerships. She said, “Count me in!”

The good news is that for March and April, Serenity Gallery will partner with NCWI to donate 20 percent of sales to the nonprofit organization.

Jane Moves to Alexandria and Creates NWCI

(Photo: Lucelle O’Flaherty/The Zebra Press)

Jane said that although family lured her to this city, it is Alexandria’s love of history and embrace of innovations that energizes her. Ever since the 1970s, when Jane discovered she couldn’t eat lunch with her male labor relations colleagues, leading her to join the second wave of feminism, she has been a vocal force supporting women’s equality. She helped eliminate gender-segregated restaurants and help-wanted ads. She helped integrate men’s-only groups like Rotary, Kiwanis, and Jaycees, eventually becoming the first national executive director of the National Organization for Women. After retiring from her award-winning marketing and consulting firm, she authored “Martha Matilda Harper and the American Dream: How One Woman Changed the Face of Business.” But she admits, “Only after crisscrossing the United States and Canada for six years to uncover the buried story.”

The National Center of Women’s Innovations (NCWI) was born out of Jane’s frustration with the obscurity of women innovators in history. Her journey to find the story of Martha Matilda Harper – the pioneer of modern retail franchising and inventor of the reclining shampoo chair – revealed a profound gap in societal recognition of women’s contributions. Without the diligent preservation of Harper’s records by franchisees and their families, her story might have been lost.

Realizing the importance of recognizing and celebrating women’s innovations three years ago, Jane and a group of passionate supporters founded NCWI in Alexandria. Its mission is to bring stories like Harper’s to light, reshape societal perceptions, and inspire the next generation of young girls to follow in the footsteps of female innovators.

An interactive NCWI exhibit about Dr. Gladys West, the Black mathematician who is called “the mother of GPS,” is on public display at Virginia Tech’s Center of Innovation through June Virginia Tech’s 3.5-acre campus is three blocks from the new Potomac Yard-VT Metro station, connecting its students, faculty, and staff with the center of Northern Virginia’s growing technology corridor.

In March, NCWI will launch its Dare to Be It Campaign around women in motorsports, highlighting the role of women in racing and in initiating key car features.

Learn how you can support the important work of NCWI and Serenity Gallery at this special website: https://tisaraphoto.com/mosaics/Transformations.html

Mosaic artist/photographer Nina Tisara is the founder of Living Legends of Alexandria.

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