During the 3rd leadership seminar at the UCLA Labor Center, Barbara H. Clark, storytelling instructor, gives direction on how to effectively position a microphone in relationship to the mouth when public speaking.

Throughout the process of organizing the women’s groups this Spring for Suzanne Lacy’s Stories of Work & Survival, three leadership seminars were offered to the group leaders and other interested women to strengthen skills in public speaking, media relations and storytelling craft as methods for spreading the working woman’s experience. These seminars were generated in collaboration with UCLA Labor Center Project Director Janna Shadduck-Hernandez in conjunction with the Center’s efforts to train union leaders and provide a community education and meeting space. By offering expert advice and time to practice leadership skills both during the seminars and as part of the project’s public conversations, Lacy’s ‘Public + Artist Project’ for MOCA intends to be an activism resource for these women in conjunction with the exhibition as well as beyond the museum into other realities of the working world. Lacy and her project organizers hope that the women who participate are able to build their stories to relay concerns and ideas regarding their profession, particularly from a female vantage point. This ability to describe working class experiences in a clear and meaningful fashion can be a basis for advancing political agendas whether as part of a specific union effort, through local communities or in other venues that are impacted by the hard work these women perform each week.

A well-respected local figure, Barbara H. Clark, led the 1st and 3rd seminars, on March 3 and May 5 respectively, at the UCLA Labor Center. Barbara is a self-proclaimed ‘librarian turned storyteller,’ who has acquired both local and national recognition for her work teaching and performing storytelling to a broad variety of age groups. In teaching storytelling, she stresses the value of each individual story while also emphasizing the need for awareness and refinement when sharing publicly. Barbara reviewed techniques for crafting a story to achieve a concise and descriptive result. To improve public speaking skills, each participant was given an opportunity to practice introducing herself, stating her reasons for attending the workshop and learning to lead. Immediate, encouraging feedback was given by Barbara and other participants regarding presentation concerns such as posture, hand gestures, voice projection and pace. Over the course of the seminars, Barbara taught through example by sharing carefully crafted stories from her life that were filled with the joys and trials of youth, families and everyday living. She modeled how politically significant events could be relayed in an intriguing fashion as she told stories about the freeing of slaves at the close of the Civil War and the symbolic planting of trees on Martin Luther King Boulevard in Los Angeles.

In complement to the personal emphasis in Barbara H. Clark’s seminars, Barbara Maynard, a PR consultant who generates strategies with union and non-profits on media campaigns, led the 2nd seminar on April 14 at MOCA’s Grand Avenue building. She covered the importance of carefully planning a press campaign to achieve desirable attention and discussion surrounding an important issue. With seminar participants, Barbara explored formatting a press campaign depending on the specific media, such as the differences between print and live TV. As well, she covered the use of language and presence on the part of the press representative to express clear and passionate support for the issue.

Each of the seminars provided reinforcement to interested female leaders by emphasizing the importance of embracing leadership roles and looking to each other as resources for support during the many challenges leaders face, publicly and privately. The project moves forward with a celebratory dinner on June 16 at MOCA including the women’s groups, their invited female guests and other community leaders who have the capacity to listen and respond to the poignant stories. With the rhythm of these events, Lacy intends to make audible to a broader audience these often invisible women’s voices by creating another opportunity for the women to practice sharing publicly, in hope that the effect will resonate beyond the territory of MOCA.

Barbara H. Clark works with women leaders interested in improving public presence and voice through telling their stories.

Photos by Sara Daleiden