HomeMy WebLinkAboutWomenHood Project Letter of RecommendationUniversity Libraries
Iowa Women's Archives
University of Iowa
125 West Washington Street
Iowa City, IA 52242-1420
319-335-5068
Fax 319-335-5900
lib.uiowa.edu/iwa/
Dear Grant Committee,
As the Associate Curator of the Iowa Women's Archives, its' been my privilege to work with Satomi
Kawai in making the first two iterations of Women:Hood Project available to the public and I
enthusiastically support its candidacy for a matching grant from the City of Iowa City's public art
program.
The Iowa Women's Archives, housed at the University of Iowa's Main Library, was founded in 1992 to
collect the history of Iowa women from all walks of life. We are open to the public, and currently
house over 1200 collections related to women's history in this state, one of which is the
Women:Hood Project records. Last year, Ms. Kawai provided the Archives with digital images of the
artwork produced through Women:Hood along with recordings of the full interviews that inspired
them. The Iowa Women's Archives paid to have these interviews transcribed and securely stored.
The recordings are now described on our online database, ArchivesSpace, and available to any
researcher, on or off campus, who requests them. We look forward to continuing to collaborate in
this way for future iterations of the project.
The oral history interviews that form the base of Women:Hood's artworks are rich with historical
value. They and the resulting artwork help the Archives fulfill our mission to document the activities
of Iowa women throughout the state and.beyond its borders. Oral histories such as these provide
personal, intimate, reflections in a way that few other primary sources do. At the Iowa Women's
Archives, The Women:Hood Project's oral history interviews have joined hundreds of others that
garner national interest from the scholarly community.
Since we seek to represent women with a variety of experiences, beliefs, and professional
backgrounds, the interviews collected as a part of Women:Hood are especially useful. Satomi
Kawai and her team gathered personal points of view about womanhood from contemporary
women, many who are in STEM fields, are immigrants, or have other experiences that that are not
widely represented in the Iowa Women's Archives, or in any archives. They are a unique contribution
to the historical record, and I anticipate that this collection's value and use will only increase with
time.
Satomi Kawai has stated that she hopes this project will "invite dialogue, pass on experiences, and
value the stories of one another." It has been my pleasure to aid her in this endeavor by preserving
her work and ensuring that the dialogue started by this project will continue well into the future.
Sincerely,
Anna Holland