Dear friends,
As we close out October 2022, we also end a month that is dedicated to breast cancer awareness. In 2017, I curated Bosom Bodies: An Exhibition in Honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month (October) at the SIA Gallery in Peekskill, NY (thank you, Nadine Gordon-Taylor!) of artworks that honor the beauty of the female breast and the need to address breast cancer every day: through education, proactive examinations, support for survivors, and more research for better treatment.
Wilhelmina Obatola Grant-Cooper
My inspiration came from the brilliant artist Wilhelmina Obatola Grant-Cooper, who survived breast cancer twice, and founded SISTAAH (Survivors Inspiring Sisters Through Art and Advocacy for Health). This past year she dedicated her energies to a beautiful project, pairing teenage girls with breast-cancer survivors in recent years ("The Covid Era"). The title of the book Uplifting Cancer Survivors in the Covid Era: Expressions of Kindness and Inspiration Between Aunties and Nieces says it all. The exchanges here in letters accompanied by Wilhelmina's magnificent collages and photographs of the bracelets the teens (the "nieces") made for women they didn't know (their "aunties") are absolutely gorgeous. If ever you worry about the future of this planet, read these letters for reassurance that kindness and love remain in abundant supply. You just have to know where to look.
So, give yourself and others the joy of reading these heartwarming letters and support SISTAAH too.
And congratulations to Wilhelmina for receiving an excellent review in the Manhattan Times two weeks ago. Here is the link to the review.
You can order the book directly from the SISTAAH website (and receive a signed copy too!)
Or from Amazon (in print and for Kindle)
Wishing you all excellent health and great happiness, always -
Love,
Beth
Beth S. Gersh-Nesic, PhD
Director/owner
New York Arts Exchange, LLC
