#31 Tina Barry (The Virginia Project) / Carolina Soto (Life After Incarceration) "Telling the Untold Stories of Women"

We're shouting out Emily Furr (full disclosure, she's Theresa friend) and Emily's amazingly feminist visual art show! Our first guest is Tina Barry, writer and author of Mall Flower who is working on a special art exhibit called The Virgina Project. The Virginia Project is a visual depiction of the fictionalized stories of Virginia Haggard and Jean McNeil. Tired of women like Haggard being eclipsed in history by their famous partners, Tina began crafting a mostly fictionalized account of Haggard and McNeil’s two years in High Falls, NY. In Barry’s pieces, Haggard and McNeil tell their stories. The Virginia Project is a unique collaboration between Tina and her stories and 14 mostly Hudson Valley-based women artists working in styles that range from realistic illustration to conceptual installation to interpret Tina's stories. Our second special guest, Carolina Soto, is a formerly incarcerated woman who now works to help other women re-enter after being incarcerated and to change the incarceration system as a whole. An activist from a young age, Carolina shares her incredible stories from her time in prison and the deep friendships/family that she formed there. As the inspiration for Yoga Janet, a character in the book, Orange is the New Black, she became the resident yoga teacher while in prison. Carolina shares how being grateful and knowing how to forgive others as well as herself helps keep her happy despite all that she's seen and experienced in her life. She is part of the movement to end women's incarceration via her work with the National Council of Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls and Hope House. Shocking fact... 76% of women in prison have been sexually molested or violated. She's working with and on a panel this October with Youth Arts NY talking about women and incarceration. Finally, if you are someone formerly incarcerated and want to apply for leadership training, you can apply HERE Self Care...hmmm, to sum it up. Be true to yourself. "When we attend to our own growth and learning in the area of our interests, we are engaged in the joy and challenge of building ourselves. From the fullness of our own talent and skill, we automatically serve the world rather than steal from it." Deborah Adele Emily Furr Tina Barry | The Virginia Project National Council of Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls] | Hope House Today’s show was engineered by Manuel Blas of Radio Kingston, www.radiokingston.org. We heard music from Shana Falana, http://www.shanafalana.com/, and audio from the film, She’s Beautiful When She’s Angry, http://www.shesbeautifulwhenshesangry.com ** Please: SUBSCRIBE to our pod and leave a REVIEW wherever you are listening, it helps other users FIND US :) Follow Us: INSTAGRAM * https://www.instagram.com/iwantwhatshehaspodcast/ FACEBOOK * https://www.facebook.com/iwantwhatshehaspodcast TWITTER * https://twitter.com/wantwhatshehas