INTERNATIONAL CAUCUS/UN Program HONOR ROLL
2013
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SIMONE KESTELMAN

"Mamae Foi para a roca a papai foi trabalhar (Daddy has gone to the fields, Mommy has gone to work)". Set of six hollow ceramic dresses - one stained in red, referring to sexual violence.

Undesired - a pile of ceramic shoes brings attention to gendercide

"Marcha soldado" (Marching Soldier) refers to child labor

Website: www.simonekestelman.com

Home: São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil and New York City

Artist's Background: Simone was born and raised in Niteroi, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and specializes in ceramics and glass work, which has been shown in numerous galleries in Brazil and, internationally, in Chile, Boca Raton, Florida, and, more recently, at the Scope Fair in NYC and in WCA Philadelphia Chapter's exhibition Violence. 

Issues the Work Addresses:  Child Abuse, Child Labor

Highlighted project(s): The series "Cantigas" (Nursery Rhymes) focuses on domestic violence against children and includes talks, workshops, and round table discussions. "Undesired" brings attention to gendercide and "Marcha soldado" (Marching soldier) refers to child labor.

THE RAGDOLL PROJECT

The Ragdoll Project hosts a doll-making workshop at the Spiral Q Theatre Clark Park Peoplehood Festival in Philadelphia in October 2012.

14 WCA Philadelphia Caucus members and volunteers presented The Ragdoll Project public information station at the Philadelphia Fringe Festival in September 2012. Left to right: Joanna Fulginiti (Ragdoll Project Chair) , Bonnie MacAllister, Jennifer Thompson-Allie, and Rachel Udell.

The Ragdoll Project installation displayed in the WCA Philadelphia Caucus exhibition Stop Slavery Now: A Conversation About Human Trafficking in March 2013 at F&N Gallery in Philadelphia.

WCA Philadelphia Caucus members host a book reading of Girls Like Us with author Rachel Lloyd, leading child sex trafficking advocate and Founder and CEO of Girls Educational and Mentoring Services (GEMS). GEMS supports American girls and young women survivors of commercial sexual exploitation and domestic trafficking. Front Row: Alison Altergott, Rachel Lloyd; Back row: Bonnie MacAllister, Ellen Bonnett, Joanna Fulginiti (Ragdoll Project Chair) , Ruth Schanbacher, and Jeanne Lombardo.

The Ragdoll Project is an ongoing project by the Philadelphia Women's Caucus for Art that educates the public on human trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation and supports survivors and at risk women and children. By engaging artists and the public in a creative project, they hope to bring more people into the discussion and offer an opportunity to contribute to the lives of those affected by this crime. Along with members of the community, they have created over 100 handmade dolls to symbolize the numbers of human beings impacted by human trafficking. The dolls have been presented along with educational information at various public venues. The Ragdoll Project Committee hosts protests, doll-making workshops, book-readings, movie nights, and educational sessions on human trafficking. 

Websites/Press: 
Blog page: www.theragdollproject.org
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theragdollprojectphilawca
Trafficking Awareness Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/wcahumantrafficking/
List of events: (http://phila-wca.blogspot.com/search/label/ragdoll%20project)
Email: theragdollproject@hotmail.com
Article: Don Art News http://brewermultimedia.com/stop-slavery-now-a-conversation-about-human-trafficking/
Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/20418941@N06/sets/72157627898099386/
Video at Philly DoGooder: http://iframe-763041.strutta.com/entry/1002076
Article: http://philly.sidearts.com/tag/the-ragdoll-project/

Public Exposure:

• April - May 2013, Exhibited in Violence, A Juried Exhibition sponsored by the Womenʼs Caucus for Art, Philadelphia Chapter in cooperation with the Montgomery County Guild of Professional Artists, SPP Galleries, Conshhocken, PA
  
• March 2013, Presented by the International Caucus of the Women's Caucus for Art at The Artisan Fair at the 2013 NGO Committee on the Status of Women Forum, New York, NY
  
• September 2012 - January 2013, Exhibited in Honoring Women's Rights: Echoing Visual Voices Together, National Steinbeck Center, Salinas, CA
  
• May 2012, Educational table hosted by The Philadelphia Women's Caucus for Art Philadelphia Chapter, Mother's Day Celebration at the home of Ellen Smith, Bryn Mawr, PA
  
• May 2012, Presented at the Women's Caucus for Art Philadelphia Caucus/Permanent Wave Philly Benefit for Survivors of Human Trafficking, The Rotunda, Philadelphia, PA
  
• March 2012, Exhibited in Stop Slavery Now: A Conversation About Human Trafficking, F&N Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
  
• February 2012 - Book reading and signing with Rachel Lloyd, Founder and CEO of (GEMS) Girls Educational and Mentoring Services at Circle of Hope Church, Philadelphia, PA
  
• February 2012, Video presentation by the Young Women's Caucus at the 40th Anniversary 2012 National Women's Caucus for Art Conference, Los Angeles, CA
  
• February 2012,  Window installation and Create Awareness Night doll-making workshop at Follicle Studio, Philadelphia, PA
  
• September 2012,  Protest and education session,  Philadelphia Fringe Festival, Philadelphia, PA
  
• October 2011, Doll-making workshop and educational table presented at the Spiral Q Puppet Theater's Clark Park Peoplehood Festival, Philadelphia, PA