Satomi Kawai and the Women: Hood Collective

"Women: Hood" Fourth Phase
2025-26 Project Grant

"Women: Hood" is a community-based, collaborative art project launched in 2018. The project explores the complex experiences of femininity through interviews, responsive artworks, and performances. For the past eight years, Satomi Kawai has interviewed a diverse range of women from various cultural backgrounds, social statuses, age groups, and educational levels regarding their experiences. Based on these interviews and as sources of inspiration, the project collective (Satomi Kawai, Douglas Baker, Dani Sigler, Anita Jung, and Vero Rose Smith) creates multimedia artwork that amplifies and engages with the participants' video narratives.

In 2026, new interviews will take place in eastern Iowa, ensuring that stories reflect diverse urban, rural, and small-town contexts. The collective will build on their experiences from the previous three phases to highlight commonalities and differences across communities and amplify women’s voices statewide.