Ramona Martinez and
Sri Kodakalla
Sri Kodakalla and Ramona Martinez are both artists, arts organizers, and co-directors of the Feminist Union of Charlottesville Creatives (FUCC), whose mission serves to support a community of women, gender-queer, and non-binary artists in Central Virginia. Primarily a printmaker, Ramona uses the medium as an act of resistance, against commodification and towards collective ownership, collaboration, and spirituality. Sri is a mixed media artist whose sculptural and fiber works are often inspired by her love of storytelling.
Mala Leche: a Zine for a New World
As the pandemic brought society’s injustices into stark relief, Sri and Ramona sought a collective response from their artist communities. As co-directors of FUCC, they launched Mala Leche, a quarterly radical art zine. Ramona says the stories in the zine represent the most uniquely positioned people to shape a more radically inclusive and supportive world. Through these voices, creating and living authentically becomes a radical act: “Artists are some of the most important people to creating the world that we want to see. Because artists have the freedom and the ability to imagine what that world might look like.”
Inside the Artist’s Studio
During lockdown, many artists relocated their studios to the confines of their homes. Each setting up shop at their kitchen tables, Sri and Ramona found a sense of freedom in being able to create on their own timeline, when the mood strikes them. Ramona treasured the freedom in her time at home, allowing her to create whenever the mood struck. Working largely in vinyl printmaking, her act of carving embodied both a soothing and addictive quality. For Sri, working from home changed the scale she worked at, making smaller artworks and in larger quantities. It provided a salve from the stress of the pandemic, providing an escape that let her work with her hands, and out of the confusion of the outside world.
Finding Community Online
A major challenge of creating art and preserving vital artist communities was the sudden shift into virtual spaces. Both Sri and Ramona are involved in artist collectives and organizations. Adapting to unprecedented conditions provided an opportunity to slow down and discover collaboration in surprising ways. Working in arts outreach, Sri invested time into bridging communities – from working on racial equity initiatives at McGuffey Art Center to her new position as Public Programs Coordinator at Second Street Gallery. Online exhibitions, classes, and workshops became more accessible to audiences, allowing a greater range of participation. Ramona actually made a lot of connections through these online communities, speaking with people from all over the country through a political printmaking class she took during quarantine, and even meeting her now-fiancé through exchanges on Instagram.