HW: What did you want to be when you grew up?
LD: First a dancer. I worked hard to become a dancer, until age 15, but discovered the competitive climate and got quickly disgusted. A supposed team spirit would transform into belittling others to enhance their self-esteem. Not for me, thank you! Then I discovered my passion for writing songs and that was it. I was hooked to music. And I am still pursuing my career.
HW: How would you describe your job/ work?
LD: My JobS I shall say. Luckily I am involved in different projects and activities, which is very important for my inspiration. My main job is to curate and run my platform Curated by GIRLS, which is really demanding in terms of time and energy. I work every day, at least 6 hours to keep the project alive (weekend included). It is a non-stop journey. 🙂 As it’s a self-funded project (which means no money), it can be very challenging and overwhelming. The actual daily work process is quite mechanical; looking for art, checking submissions, selecting, writing articles, publishing the features, and posting on social media, posting, posting, posting… But in spite of the robotic aspect, it is very exciting to discover new Art and be a vehicle to showcase it. The world is full of talent, that deserves to be seen. There are also very exciting projects and campaigns im directing in collaborations with artists. We have an ongoing t-shirt campaign that supports illustrators I believe in. On a more personal level, I have my music with my partner; Free Free Dom Dom @freefreedomdom which is a breath of air for me, and I also have my own insta @itslittlevoice where I let loose.
HW: Can you introduce us to @curatedbygirls?
LD: Curated by GIRLS is a platform driving a mission to promote diversity, and bring inclusivity to a male-dominated world. Since 2016, The platform is giving womxn artists a safe space to showcase their work, both online and IRL, whilst feeding the art lovers. CBG strives to show an inclusive interpretation of what ‘femininity’ means, by filling feeds and exhibition walls with armpit hair, curvy rolls, raw or magic images. Femininity is indeed as broad as the universe. I’ve been working mostly on my own these past 4 years, but today I’m delighted to have a team of talented contributors working sporadically to add their vision to the mission: Florentine (@cottoncandizzle), Julia (@julia.hovve), Soul (@soulsuleiman), Sonia (@sonialcaina). And my little sister Igliona @igliona has joined the team a year ago and contributes daily to the platform. She teaches me a lot.
HW: Talk to us a little bit about how you got started.
LD: I got started in 2016 in Berlin. I was frustrated with my own career and the society we live in. As an emerging artist, it is TOUGH to get heard. As a woman in the art world, I couldn’t not notice the issues we were facing, the lack of representation, and the unbalance. The artworld is a man world. With my best friend Ophelie Rondeau, we decided to channel our dissatisfaction and frustration into a hub for positivity: Curated by GIRLS. Long story short: unfortunately my friend didn’t pursue the project and quit a few weeks after we launched. I found myself on my own but my desire to continue CBG was stronger than my fear of doing it alone.
HW: How can Art help in the struggle for human rights?
LD: Art is a mirror of society. It reflects the struggles, the fears, the injustice, but also the beauty, hope, every aspect of our lives. Art reports injustice every day to whoever wants to see. And with social media, it has a stronger impact. Art can change the vision we have of the world.
HW: What is your goal?
LD: My goal is to help under-represented artists be seen and be heard. Give them a little bit of hope, let them know that they are not alone, that their voice matters. CBG is a space where they feel safe to be who they are. As an artist myself I know what it is to struggle to get heard, in our patriarchal society where let’s be honest, money rules! The system in place must change, and be more fair. And this starts with stopping exploiting. We need to stop exploiting each other, once and for all.
HW: What are you obsessed with right now?
LD: Honestly, I am obsessed with getting back to writing more music and releasing it. It’s always been my number one passion and I didn’t have much time these past 4 years to release much music, as CBG has taken most of my time.
HW: What’s your background?
LD: You might be surprised but I am not a curator if you consider I need to have a diploma to be that. I started from scratch, I had a taste and I worked hard. But I don’t have the culture most curators have. Anyway, life is not just about diplomas. Actually, diplomas can format you, and sometimes it is not beneficial. I am self-taught in everything I do. It’s not easy when you want to do things right but with determination and everyday work, I finally found my way of doing it.
HW: How do you stimulate Humanity?
LD: I don’t think I stimulate humanity, I am humanity, part of a whole and I hate injustice, it drives me nuts. You can’t learn to have humanity in you. You either have it or not.
HW: What’s the future of feminism for you?
LD: I hope Feminism will someday disappear because it would mean we became, as a species, more respectful, more balanced and we don’t need to fight for our rights or the human rights anymore. But there is still a long way to go, so we still need to be vigilant feminists and keep pointing at unbearable acts.
HW: Where are we with the gender struggle?
LD: Obviously gender balance is essential for our society. The hard lines between genders are blurring step by step, but important disparities still exist, and the battle for equal rights still needs fighting. We still need to work very hard and depending on where you live the struggle can be dramatic. ART, activism, talks… all can help spread the word, and more and more people are now aware that equality is not a question anymore, but a necessity….Female empowerment has proven to be key to achieving change as it is beneficial to everyone. But as we know, still a long way to go. It is urgent to end any kind of discrimination against women and girls, It is a basic human right. In fact, any kind of discrimination must be stopped. What we have witnessed these past weeks with BLM riots, is Humanity demanding to be recognized. Proof that the world is tired of lies, and can’t take it anymore. We need good people in charge that care about people and justice.
HW: What is social activism for you?
LD: Social activism starts near you. You try to educate your family, then your friends, then your neighbors, you know… If everyone was doing that, the world would be already different, and better.
HW: What do you think your biggest personal or professional success has been so far?
LD: Personal: my 11 years relationship :)professional: the success of CBG, I am proud of what I have accomplished already, on my own, with no funds at all.
HW: What’s the dream?
LD: The dream is to be less worried about the little things in everyday life. It’s hard! We always get these little problems coming and going and you have to deal with them.
HW: What is fragility for you?
LD: Fragility is me, it is you, we need to handle each other with care. We are taught to be strong, cause the world is tough blablabla… This is a very Patriarchal way of thinking. We could easily change this state of mind. Prime minister of New Zealand said one very strong thing: « we need kindness ». She gave me the thrills. Yes we need kindness. Fragility is kindness to me.
HW: What do you think of the link between psychology and art?
LD: To me, I always felt a link between the 2. When I write music, the whole process of writing, recording, is therapy. It hurts, it soothes your pain, it gives you joy; it’s a mix of all these strong emotions. Of course, Art is connected to psychology. It’s a journey in your mind and heart.
Laetitia Duveau
Founder & CEO
@curatedbygirls – curatedbygirls.com
