Performers for the debut of EF’s Her Forest Curated Event, to be hosted during the First Weekend of EF2017, were selected from hundreds of fan submissions auditioning to be part of this unique celebration of women and all they offer to art. The winners are: solo female DJ/ producer and violinist Alfiya Glow, Indian dance duo The Dance of Anarkali, uplifting California pair Heartwurkz, female DJ M.O.B., unconventional dance and soundscape artist Frankie Taminal, and female singer/piano/looping talent Melody Monroe. Also performing the inaugural Her Forest Curated Event are Lynx & The Servants of Song and non-binary EF2017 Monarch Winner, Monarch Rachel & Their Royal Court Drag Show. Learn more about the Her Forest Curated Event submission process and the winners HERE.
“It’s inspiring to be expanding Electric Forest’s Her Forest program to include a Curated Event,” says Alicia Karlin, Electric Forest Talent Buyer/Madison House Presents. “It allows us to host an even more diverse and unique lineup of performers at the festival. It’s important to us that Electric Forest continues to offer opportunities for new and distinct talent to share their art. Like all of The Forest’s participation opportunities – we call them “Plug-In” programs – this collaboration invites the community to participate in shaping the EF experience.”
Learn more about all Electric Forest’s Plug In participation programs HERE.
The idea to launch Electric Forest’s Her Forest Curated Event came in 2016 when the festival hosted a Women’s-themed panel discussion as part of its workshop series. Attendees, female artists – including Alana Rocklin (STS9), Dessa (Doomtree) and Miranda Zickler (Rabbit Wilde), and EF organizers Alicia Karlin (VP, Talent of Madison House Presents and EF Talent Buyer) and Nova Han (EF Art Director) participated in a conversation about what it means to be a woman in the Electric Forest community and in the music festival scene in general. “The inspiration it created, for both women and men, was palpable,” recalls EF Community Engagement Manager/Madison House Presents Lia Holland, who helped organize the panel. “People walked away with more awareness, and with more appreciation and compassion for fellow EF attendees. The response to the panel showed us that expanding this conversation mattered to the Forest Family.” And so, Electric Forest’s Her Forest Curated Event was born.
The foundation of EF’s “Her Forest” initiative is based on three pillars: connection, inspiration and comfort. “Our first goal was to start a dialogue and to better understand what the EF community itself thought this program should and could to become,” says Electric Forest Co-Producer/Madison House Presents Founder Jeremy Stein. “We knew the Forest Family could guide us in what this program should and could become,” says Stein. “It’s been an amazing collaborative process, and it’s still very much alive and evolving. Thus far, we’ve learned that this program is about listening to each other, being compassionate, encouraging self-expression, and harnessing this spirit of community not just during the festival but also out in the world.”
In addition to the debut of the Her Forest Curated Event, EF2017 Her Forest offerings and activities include Women’s Group Camp, a Her Forest Artist Panel, a Meet & Greet with EF Production Women, and Her Forest Circles and Meetups.
EF’s Women’s Group Camp, hosted during the First Weekend and Second Weekend by seasoned festival-goer and author Edith Johnson, offers a collaborative space for female forest goers to connect and create with each other. Centrally located in EF’s GA campgrounds, the Women’s Group Camp is open to all those who identify as women and are seeking an enhanced experience by building community with other Forest Family women. More info on the Her Forest Group Camp HERE.
Each year, the Her Forest Artist Panel hosts a conversation featuring EF performers and production staff. This year, during the Second Weekend of EF2017, female performers Savanna Buist & Katie Larson of The Accidentals and Bay Li, Kaya Nico, and Daisy Spencer of The Skins join Madison House Presents Director of Branding, Partnerships and Marketing Darcy Schneider and music festival writer Edith Johnson to discuss the topic of “Being an Ally.” Moderated by Women’s Empowerment Advocate Kiki Frederico, the panel will dialogue about how we can support each other creatively, and nurture each other culturally. The Her Forest Artist Panel is open to all EF attendees. More information on EF2017’s Her Forest Artist Panel theme and participants is available HERE.
Her Forest’s Meet & Greet with EF Production Women offers EF attendees to meet the many women who work behind the scenes to make Electric Forest happen. Hosted during the Second Weekend of EF2017, attendees are encouraged to come with questions, ideas, and stories to share.
Her Forest will also present Her Forest Circles and Meetups throughout EF’s First and Second Weekend. Her Forest Circles – hosted as women’s only events except for the Closing Circle for all genders on the final evening of the Second Weekend – offer an opportunity for participants to connect more deeply with themselves, each other, and the meaning of their experience at Electric Forest via informal learning and games, story-sharing, and more. New in 2017 – the Her Forest Group Camp will curate a schedule of informal Meetups around the festival.
Read HERE for complete 2017 Her Forest event schedule and details.
