On the first day of my first year at Conn I was intent on declaring a double major in Art and Chemistry. Things don’t always turn out how you planned. I am now a double major in Psychology and Africana Studies and minoring in Gender and Women’s Studies. This change was a result of finding interests I did not know I had and connecting with students and faculty in each major. Despite not being an Art major, there are still a lot of opportunities for me to produce art and share it around campus. I often draw in my room while I am (mildly) procrastinating or as a way to de-stress. If I like what I make, I sometimes post it on Instagram and Facebook. Three seniors at Conn, Gabby Schlein, Catherine Healey, and Katie Soricelli, saw some of my drawings and asked me to produce a few pieces for their senior theater capstone. Senior capstones are final projects that are the culmination of a senior’s work in their major. Capstones are great because they give people outside of the major an opportunity to be involved in and meet new people in different areas.

This capstone is based on the Riot Grrrls Movement, a topic that we covered in my “Introduction to Gender and Women’s Studies” class while studying the different waves of feminism. The Riot Grrrls is an underground punk-rock movement that focuses on issues of domestic abuse, sexuality, racism, activism, female empowerment and more. A large component of the movement is self-published magazines called ‘zines.’ Zines are illustrated with messages about the movement, printed in large quantities for a small cost and then spread throughout the world. My illustrations are going to be included in the zines produced by Gabby, Catherine and Katie which will be passed out to the audience and correspond to their multimedia performance about the Riot Grrrls. I was given creative freedom for this project so I decided to draw a woman’s torso to de-sexualize the female body and wrote the lyrics of a popular Riot Grrrl band, Bikini Kill, in the background. Getting involved in projects or performances like this is so rewarding because I know that my art will reach so many more people than just my followers on the ‘Gram.