I guess I’ve always had a thing for grrrl groups. I love that feeling of instant camaraderie and acceptance that makes any good sisterhood. Back in the early 90’s, there was an obvious potential for this in the healthy exchange of ideas and resources among women artists and activists in Montreal. I had enjoyed the best of this pro-feminist practice with the innovative women’s choir Choeur Maha that I founded in 1991. It was a hotbed for ideas and practices in mixed media and activism.

My long-time friend Kim Sawchuk was another active member of this scene, having been part of a funky art collective called Feminist Perverts with artists like Nell Tenhaaf and others. We had grown accustomed to discussing our works-in-progress with a supportive group of peers (primarily women), and Kim was thinking of inviting friends regularly to a “Silly Salon” to this end. Patricia (Trish) Kearns was another dear friend who had a lot of experience with feminist activism groups and has been an integral part of Choeur Maha. She has always had an awe-inspiring conviction to making social change.

It was only when I bought my first Power Mac that year that I realized there was a real digital divide, economically and ideologically keeping women at arm’s length from the burgeoning technological revolution. Women were intimidated by the idea of working with technology then in a way that feels incomprehensible now. Given our hyperactive social scene, it seemed inevitable that people were going to be asking me for computer access and it felt strange to keep such a powerful tool all to myself.

On the night of my 34th birthday, after much wine and celebration, I got Kim and Trish to swear to be partners in the formation of the mother of all feminist-activist-artist grrrl groups. I called a meeting of local female artists I knew who already worked with technology and the enthusiasm was already clearly there. The good people of the OBORO gallery were quick to offer us a tiny piece of office space for a pittance, and just as quickly I moved my Power Mac, installed a phone line and connected our 56k modem, and off we went. At this point, I want to acknowledge the very supportive men around us who were equally eager to see this thing develop. Claude Schryer donated a second Mac and plenty of audio gear and office furniture; Ian Cook designed the first web page (from the Noel Coward quote: “everything in moderation except XX!”); and Marc Boucher helped to write the first charter of incorporation. I might add that there were so many “virtual” angels who gave so selflessly of their time at that point, and without whom the Studio may never have come to fruition.

The energy around this new club/group/entity was outrageous and it was obvious that there was a real social need that had to be filled. Kim wisely suggested that we hold a press conference in late September 1995, and the response was enormous. Close to a hundred people appeared at 4001, rue Berri, all with opinions and requests on what this new centre should be about. We began to see that there were obvious economic and social factors that had created a disparity between how men and women use computers. Fortunately, we used the tremendous resource of graduate student research through Kim Sawchuk, Catherine Russell, and Will Straw. Their hours of research were the important volunteer work we so critically needed at the beginning (and probably still do). Sheryl Hamilton became involved at that time through her doctoral work at Concordia University, and proceeded to do the lion’s share of articulating research activities that would provide the funding for Studio XX. In retrospect, I can say that we really did look at the question deeply; in fact, enough to ask if women even wanted to use computers at all.

The structure of the Studio has stayed basically true to the initial ideal: an arts mentoring association that would support high-level artists by employing them as instructors. There would be a radio show (at that time specifically, for the many who did not yet possess internet access) to make the events of the Studio known. The web site was always seen as a major portal, uniting women from around the world, and including an online journal of course! The Femmes Br@nchées series has always been the most characteristic element of the Studio: the mixing of advanced and emerging artists and activists in a convivial environment where they can engage in dialogue about their work with other fantastic women. At its inception, the internet was still so new that none of us could imagine the vast domain of web art, and so it is thanks to Catherine McGovern that the HTMLLes Festival exists. It was always my idea to create a centre that could generate its own revenue so that we could be truly independent and equally rebellious. But now, I am extremely grateful to the federal, provincial, and municipal bodies that have so generously supported us with a fiscal infrastructure without which we would have almost surely perished.

Many times since its inception, we’ve questioned the existence of Studio XX. When desktop publishing became the norm and computer courses in web graphics became omnipresent, many have asked why we need a centre specifically for women. Issues of identity politics and the internet have been explored to death, and feminism may not appear to have a place for many in new media. But to this, I have a simple answer. Feminism is what it is, and it belongs in art, at work, in church, in bed, and most definitely, in making a better world. I look at the brave young feminists lurking (pardon the pun) around the Studio, and I am patient when they roll their eyes at us, the old guard. We fought an entirely different fight to establish a feminist agenda within technology. Feminism is, by definition, concerned with the well-being of our society. And now that technology and the internet have so completely revolutionized society, we all need to ensure that it is for the good of all.

http://www.kathykennedy.ca