Women Who Rock: Making Scenes, Building Communities Oral History Archive

Women Who Rock was created in 2011 to establish an open dialogue about the portrayal of women and popular music by looking at the effects of society, culture and social justice. This community is brought together in the local Seattle area by University of Washington and Seattle University faculty members, students, community members, activists and academics in music history, gender, race and cultural/ social justice movements. The wide variety of individuals from this community are able to introduce and collaborate with artists, musicians, media channels, activists, scholars and students in order to research, discuss and understand the role of women and popular music throughout social scenes and movements.

This forum serves as a way to connect the music community and give light to artists who have been lost to time. This community discusses the underlying social constraints that pave the way for some artists while limiting others. They also try to outline the roots of each sound in popular music and try to give its source recognition. The University of Washington Libraries Digital Initiatives has hosted the Women Who Rock Digital Oral History Archive since April 2013. The University of Washington works with the Women Who Rock collective by supporting their digital archive and instituting classes on the Seattle campus that represent their ideals. They continue to grow their digital network and data through documentation of scenes collected at their events. The Women Who Rock collective hosts concerts, interviews, and conferences. They hold an annual unConference & Film Festival that includes music, dance, art and media. They have had notable performers such as Alice Bag, Medusa, Star Evelyn Harris and Christa Bell were featured at their events.

The Women Who Rock Archive is based on community outreach and involvement. Over the years the program has partnered with local Seattle communities, including students within and outside the University of Washington. The first collaborating students who helped co-found the project included graduate students from the GWSS Department of the University of Washington who were mentored by Michelle Habell-Pallan and Sonnet Retman, such as: Nicole Robert, Martha González, Rebecca Clark Mane, and Kim Carter Muñoz. . Lulu (Luzviminda) Carpenter, an experienced Seattle organizer and head of Urzuri Productions, is a main organizer of the Women Who Rock annual unConference. As a faculty member at Seattle University Mako Fitts Ward ensured that the unConference bridged with women musician, performers and activists in Seattle's hip scene. Michelle Habell-Pallan and Sonnet Retman co-teach the class known as Rock the Archive: Hip Hop, Indie Rock & New Media, which allows students to study women and African-American involvement in popular music culture. Assignments include blog posts, video critiques, and musical analysis. Each assignment is aimed at a key theme of the project: write to rock, reel rebels, making scenes and building communities. For example, students were able to gain admission to the Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI) and learn about the legacy of Seattle hip-hop. The project has successfully built communities both at the undergraduate and graduate level. Graduate Mentor Workshops are also provided to allow graduate students to present their work in front of a distinguished audience within their respective field and gain critique and feedback.

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