OA’s WOMEN ARTISTS FUND

Eudora Welty photo by Kay Bell, courtesy of Eudora Welty, LLC

WE CAN BECAUSE SHE DID

Etta Baker - photo courtesy of Music Maker Relief Foundation

In the 1960s, Etta Baker was working full-time to support her family, waking up every morning before sunrise to fit in an hour alone with her guitar. Eight years after the death of her husband and son, she gave her notice and began playing her unique style of Piedmont Blues professionally. “Nobody, nowhere plays like she did,” Taj Mahal told Oxford American contributor Rebecca Bengal, who profiles Baker in our North Carolina Music Issue. “That some-lonesome suspended heartbroken haunting lost ancient chord,” Bengal writes, “the name for that sound, I realized, is home.” 

Support women artists—support the next generation of cultural icons.

Zora Neale Hurston photo by
Carl Van Vechten, 1938

The Oxford American (OA) is a leading presenter of the South’s best writing, music, and visual art with a longstanding commitment to showcasing work that reflects the depths of our region’s voices. This #GivingTuesday, help us uplift female artists across all platforms in which the OA operates by raising $25k to expand our Women Artists Fund!

Because of a challenge gift, your contribution is matched, dollar for dollar up to $25,000. This doubles the impact of your generosity!

OUR STORY

Though best known for supporting the South’s literary community, the nonprofit Oxford American magazine also significantly empowers artists to explore our region’s complexity and vitality through music and visual media like photography, painting, and video documentaries. The resulting journalism and storytelling fills a unique gap in the national media landscape that brings to the forefront unique perspectives on often overlooked people and places. Through this work, we have the incredible opportunity to support the creative voices that are shaping our region’s culture and artistic legacy for years to come.

In 2017, the Oxford American launched the Women Writers Fund during our #GivingTuesday campaign to reiterate our commitment to work that reflects the depth of the South. Thanks to the generosity of people like you, we raised over $36,000. 

The impact that these donations had on our work is impossible to quantify. We used those funds in 2018 to publish more than forty women writers in the print magazine—including rising stars like Molly McCully Brown and luminaries like renowned poet Nikki Giovanni, New York Times bestseller Beth Macy, and National Book Award finalist Lauren Groff.

Energized by this success, this year, we’re adapting the concept into the Women Artists Fund. Instead of supporting only writers, the Women Artists Fund will support female artists across disciplines. We seek work from women who will further our mission to explore the complexity of the South through visual art, music, and community programs. 

Many areas of the South are still lacking in arts programming. Your support ensures that we can continue to invest in our region’s most talented artists and create opportunities for meaningful engagement within our community. 

Every dollar you give or spend with the OA truly makes a difference. Your support ensures the OA story will continue—and that we continue to feature stories from every corner of the region, and from the entire spectrum of creative voices that inhabit those places.

GIVE AND RECEIVE!

Donations at the $100 level and above are automatically enrolled in the OA Society.

We've formed a community of Oxford American enthusiasts who’ve joined our celebration of the South’s culture through literature, art, and music. Give a little extra and receive perks exclusive to the OA Society:

• $100 Annual Membership: receive a one-year subscription to the Oxford American magazine (four issues), a personalized thank you note from our staff, one gift subscription to the Oxford American, and a 10% discount in the OA online store. Your name will be listed as a supporter on our website.
  
• $250 Annual Membership: receive the same benefits as above, plus a limited-edition “Texas Love Letter” vinyl record, and your name will be listed as a supporter inside the pages of the Oxford American magazine.
  
• $500 Annual Membership: will receive all the items listed as the $250 level, as well as four gift subscriptions to the Oxford American.