Anita Kunz: "Original Sisters: Portraits of Tenacity and Courage"
January 30, 2025 at 7:00pm
The Words Festival is thrilled to present an evening visit with internationally acclaimed, Toronto-based artist and illustrator Anita Kunz, who will join Words Artistic Director Josh Lambier to talk about her recent project, “Original Sisters: Portraits of Tenacity and Courage.”
Anita Kunz: "Original Sisters: Portraits of Tenacity and Courage"
Hosted by Josh Lambier
30 January 2025, 7PM
Registration is free or by donation
We're proud to offer most of our programming free to promote universal access to the arts, but we are an unfunded, volunteer-run organization. To keep Words open to all, we rely on support from festivalgoers who can offer a donation of any amount to allow us to keep doing the work we do.
Our conversation will explore Anita’s collection of portraits of extraordinary women that she has portrayed from ancient to current times, whose discoveries, inventions, creativity and accomplishments have had resonant impacts upon the world. The collection features 450 original illustrated portraits and stories of courageous women who have greatly influenced future generations and changed history.
Searching for inspiration during the uncertainty of the pandemic, Anita Kunz (OC DFA) researched hundreds of women from all backgrounds and cultures and was so inspired by the ways in which these women shaped our world—she committed their stories to paper.
Covering historically important figures such as Joan of Arc, Florence Nightingale, and Anne Frank, to well-known contemporary artists, performers, and activists such as Nina Simone, Hilma Af Klint, Angela Davis, and Greta Thunberg; from scientists, inventors, warriors, pirates, and military leaders, to under-recognized figures from all fields and walks of life, the subjects range across geography and time. Each of these exquisitely rendered portraits is accompanied by succinct descriptions, written by the artist, of their noteworthy contributions to the world.
The Original Sisters series appeared in London, Ontario at TAP Centre for Creativity in 2022 and is currently on display at the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Massachusetts.
Commissioned to create the cover art for celebrated magazines such as The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, and Time Magazine, Anita has been recognized for her influential work with accolades and awards including induction into the Royal Canadian Academy of the Arts and appointment as an Officer of the Order of Canada in recognition of her outstanding achievements as an illustrator.
Register to join us here
