Westbeth Celebrates Women's History Month

Women’s History Month at Westbeth reflects on the extraordinary contributions that Westbeth’s women artists have made to history, art and culture.
Those featured on the poster represents a fraction of our resident emerging and established women artists, past and present. We have also included on this page, other Westbeth women artists whose work has been featured on the website as Westbeth Icons, Profiles in Arts, and Westbeth Boldface.

Pele Bauch dancer

Pele grew up at Westbeth and later returned with her husband and children as fully accomplished dancer and choreographer exploring indigenous Pacific Islander movement. Her work has been presented at the Brooklyn Museum, Chocolate Factory, Danspace Project, HERE’s American Living Room and Best of the American Living Room, Joyce SoHo, Dixon Place, BAX, and other venues. Pele has received funding from LMCC, Harkness Foundation, and BAC.
Dance NYC Town Hall Discussion
New Dance Alliance

Melika Dave visual artist and musician

Melika grew up in Westbeth with her father, a visual artist. She is a multi-media artist working in the realms of music, poetry, painting and design. Melika is a 2021 Still Standing Artist in Residence and the founder of the emerging artist community Public Fruit.
Music
Art on the Avenue
Website

Gwen Fabricant visual artist

Once the costume designer for the Open Theater, Gwen’s visual work preserves and investigates the changeability and fragility of natural forms, for which she has been awarded Joan Mitchell, Pollack Krasner, MacDowell Colony grants. She is a 2018 Westbeth Icon honoree.
Westbeth artist page
Website
Westbeth Icon film

Nancy Gabor theater director and teacher

A long-time collaborator with Joseph Chaikin as an actor in The Serpent and directing him in The War with Heaven , Nancy was a Master Acting teacher with the New Amsterdam Theater Conservatory for 25 years. She co-founded the senior acting storytelling workshop, You’re Never Too Old to Play, whose most recent performance was at Little Island NYC in 2021.
Westbeth artist page
Little Island Performance

Arlene Gottfried photographer and singer

A dedicated gospel singer, Arlene was one of the finest NYC street photographers of her generation, receiving belated recognition for her candid photographs of people in under-represented neighborhoods. Her books include Mommie, “Midnight, and Sometimes Overwhelming, and is currently on exhibit at the Daniel Cooley Fine Art Gallery, NYC.
Wikipedia
Daniel Cooley Fine Art
Website

Penny Jones puppeteer

Penny and her company since the 1970’s specializes in puppet shows for the very young, and puppet ballets. Her company has performed at the Henson International Puppet Festival and at Avery Fischer Hall, Currently her work is included in Puppets of New York, at the Museum of the City of New York. She is a 2017 Westbeth Icon honoree.
Website
Puppets of New York
Westbeth Icon film

Christina Maile visual artist and writer

Christina co-founded the Westbeth Playwrights Feminist Collective. Her Garden for Children with Aids was published in Landscape Architecture Magazine. She won two Chaikin Writing Awards, and a Pollack Krasner Foundation Grant for her printmaking which explores her Dayak and West Indian heritage. She is a member of Stories Around the Table which will perform in April 2022, and of the Westbeth Board of Directors.
Website
Westbeth Playwrights Feminist Collective
Chaikin Writing Award

Gloria Miguel actor and playwright

Gloria is Kuna/Rappahannock and co-founder of Spiderwoman Theater Company, the first Native American theater group. Touring extensively in Spiderwoman productions, as well in her own one woman shows, she also taught drama workshops at Navaho Nation Reservations. In Spring 2022, she will perform Spiderwoman Theater’s Misdemeanor Dreams at La Mama ETC, NYC. Gloria is a 2018 Westbeth Icon honoree.
Spiderwoman Theater
Wikipedia
Westbeth Icon film

Madeleine ‘Yayodele’ Nelson musician

Yayodele, composer, and crafter of the group’s instruments, was the founder of the “Women of the Calabash”, whose music drew on the roots of Caribbean, and African music to underscore issues of liberation and civil rights. As a solo artist, Yayodele was featured by Paul Simon on The Rhythm of the Saints, and taught master classes at Julliard and at the Fresh Air Fund Camp in Fishkill NY.
Women of the Calabash performance
Westbeth Artist in Profile
The Globe and Mail

Carol Nolte dancer and choreographer

co-founded WESTFEST Dance – a curated dance festival that supports cutting edge performances by emerging and established movement artists which take place in unusual and traditional locations at Westbeth. Carol also created over 50 dances for her company Dance Collective, a collaborative and a diverse community based program.
Westbeth artist page
WESTFEST Dance
Dance Collective

WESTBETH ICONS

is a project that celebrates the life and work of senior Westbeth artists who continue to work passionately in their artistic field. It is produced by the Westbeth Artists Residents Council.