Women to Watch Awards Finalists-Arts
Meet the 2023 Finalists
Christina Capra
Filmmaker
Describe your role and the art you create.
“I am a filmmaker. I direct both theatrical and commercial productions. I am a storyteller, and I think the most important part of great storytelling is connecting with the audience. I want the audience to feel something from the work I create.”
What are some of the impacts you’ve made locally?
“I would like to think I have helped bring some of the local artists’ stories to the public light with my films and my time working at Art in Bloom Gallery. My latest film, Karen Crouch Believing in the Process, was accepted into local film festivals: Cucalorus and the North Carolina Film Festival as well as quite a few international film festivals. I am honored to have worked with local artists Karen Crouch and Jessie Robertson on this film that we created for Art in Bloom Gallery.”
Where do you draw your inspiration?
“I’m inspired by the professors at UNCW Film Studies department that taught me not only technical skills but also theoretical analysis of the great masters of filmmaking. I am also inspired by the women who participated in my films. It’s easy to tell a great story when you have a great subject, and we had incredibly talented women in our short films who shared their stories and their artwork boldly and eloquently.”
What’s a future goal?
“I dream of being a director of a feature film or episodic. I love being on film sets; there is a certain magic that exists there.”
Sonja Cook
Owner & Operator, Pinspiration
Describe your role and the art you create.
“I provide a space that removes common barriers to creating art and do-it-yourself (DIY) projects that people see. Numerous friends I made throughout the years had few finished projects to show for their time and effort. My studio makes it easy for anyone to unleash their inner artist and try DIY. I provide the supplies, tools, specialty equipment, assistance, and the cleanup that often prevents people from acting on their ideas.”
What are some of the impacts you’ve made locally?
“I have connected with several individuals and families who have found my studio to be a safe space to come and express themselves during a time of emotional despair. They have found the value in the therapeutic process of art. I also support a number of nonprofit organizations and helped to further their missions of inspiring positive change in New Hanover, Pender, and Brunswick counties.”
Where do you draw your inspiration?
“My inspiration comes from many places: God, and the opportunities he places on my heart to explore; my family, and their ideas or personal challenges they encounter; and my community, and the ups and downs I see in the day-to-day.”
What’s a future goal?
“Given the current statistics of mental health in our youth and young adults, I’m praying about what it might look like to offer my studio up in ways that foster a safer alternative in handling and working through their struggles. I have recently moved beyond the four walls of my studio and now provide on-site events for groups who may be more comfortable creating in a location that is convenient and comfortable for them.”
Sarah Hand
Owner and Educator, Kindermusik with Sarah/Flutist, Wilmington Symphony Orchestra
Describe your role and the art you create.
“I teach early childhood music education classes to children from birth to the age of seven years. I create a playful and nurturing environment where the child will experience music of varying styles, genres, and cultures. . They’ll interact with other children and engage in movement, rhythm, and vocal activities that develop far more than just music skills. Each class has parent or caregiver involvement. My focus is to guide each class from one activity to the next, helping the parent understand how their child is developing musically, cognitively, and socially. I also perform on the flute/piccolo with the Wilmington Symphony Orchestra, and during the concert season I am hired to coach one of the Wilmington Symphony Youth Orchestra Chamber groups.”
What are some of the impacts you’ve made locally?
“I have the largest Kindermusik studio in Wilmington with almost 100 students weekly and was awarded Top Producer in 2022 from Kindermusik International. I was one of 200 educators in the world to receive the Top Producer in 2022, and I was just recently awarded in June a new badge of being fully accredited in all ages of the Kindermusik Curriculum.”
Where do you draw your inspiration?
“My inspiration comes from my passion for music and being a musician, to being able to provide music-based education for children from birth through age seven. I want to use the power and joy of music-making to help children learn and grow during the years most critical to brain development.”
What’s a future goal?
“I would love to be able to grow my business to a larger location and have multiple Kindermusik educators teaching with me. A long-term goal would be to have a music school where Kindermusik, private music lessons, and a beginner Suzuki violin studio can come together to build a strong foundation for a lifetime love of learning.”
Melissa Shuford
Owner & CEO, FunkSHUn at the JunkSHUn
Describe your role and the art you create.
“I am a poet, published author, and spoken word artist. I paint mental pictures through written word, poetry. I use wordplay to express my deepest, innermost thoughts and feelings. I perform my work in front of audiences comprised of varying backgrounds and ages, bringing my words to life in a way that is relatable to most. I am a DJ, telling stories through musical selections, inciting joy and self-expression through dance. I am the owner/CEO of FunkSHUn at the JunkSHUn, an event venue where I help clients plan, execute, and bring their vision to life for their own private events.”
What are some of the impacts you’ve made locally?
“I was invited to guide and instruct students and teachers through a two-hour poetry workshop for their upcoming eighth-grade Poetry Slam. I shared my original poetry, facilitated the students and faculty through drafting their own original pieces, that they then shared with the entire assembly. I offered the keynote address as a content expert at a women’s empowerment event focused on mental health, where I shared original poetry from my published book Unrequited Verses – Honest Deception Painful Growth, highlighting the value of writing as self-expression to improve mental health. I have collaborated with other local poets and created a monthly Open Mic Night, where people of all backgrounds and ages have a platform to come together at FunkShun at the JunkShun to network, express themselves, and fellowship with other local artists. I also serve as a mentor to a few young women and men aspiring to write and publish books, learn how to DJ, and to learn about business ownership.”
Where do you draw your inspiration?
“I draw my inspiration from my own experiences and those of my family and friends, my community, past and current events, deep conversations and collaboration with other artists, recognizing and analyzing life’s struggles but more importantly the joys and triumphs of life, my travels to other countries, and immersing myself in different cultures.”
What’s a future goal?
“I aspire to have the freedom to devote my time to my artistry and to make it my means of supporting my lifestyle, which would open more doors for my ideas of a mentorship program and the realization of my artistic vision. I am a perpetual knowledge-seeker; a student of mastering new skills. I take delight in enhancing my personal skill set for my own self-improvement and to enhance my service to my community, especially the youth.”
Melissa Wilgis
Fine Art Photographer, One Fine Fotogram
Describe your role and the art you create.
“I’m a fine art photographer, specializing in photograms, which are shadow-like photographic images made by placing objects between light-sensitive paper and a light source. My original photograms are made the old-fashioned way: in a traditional darkroom with a dreamy red light. In my art and in my life, I choose to ‘let my light shine,’ and I hope my art will encourage others to do so as well.”
What are some of the impacts you’ve made locally?
“One of my favorite yearly projects is making cyanotype photograms at the Hampstead branch of the Pender County Public Library. I host an activity during which children get a brief lesson on cyanotype, a photographic process that dates back to the mid-1800s. Then, the participants create their own cyanotype photogram artwork to take home. The children find the process fascinating, and they love the final results.”
Where do you draw your inspiration?
“I think first and foremost, I draw my inspiration from being a woman and a mother. I seek out photogram subjects that speak to me emotionally and visually. I love working with antique and vintage garments and trying to tell the story within them. I’m also inspired by nature and finding beauty where it may be less obvious.”
What’s a future goal?
“I love creating photograms in new ways and combining various other processes. I most recently created photograms using both the silver-gelatin and the cyanotype process combined. Upcoming, I would like to create a series to which I will add gold leaf to black-and-white silver gelatin photograms. My chosen subjects, combined with the metallic highlights, will create uplifting and positive images that will hopefully encourage others to shine brightly.”
To view the Women to Watch Awards Finalists main page, click here.
To view more of photographer Madeline Gray’s work, go to madelinegrayphoto.com.
To view more of photographer Summer Lambert’s work, go to summerlambertphoto.com.
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