image credit. ozi magaña
candela
Founded in 2019, whet is a small biannual publication dedicated to showcasing the work of BIPOC women artists from a diverse range of backgrounds—be it visual arts, rubber-stamp-making, fashion design, written or spoken word, nail design, or a variety of other mediums. whet was always intended to be a conduit, a means of connecting a larger readership with art made by women that had true meaning behind it.
As a Black woman and artist, I understand firsthand the challenges that many women face in finding a place in our passion on a larger platform or being acknowledged in the same respect that our counterparts may be. I decided to format whet with the intent of building a sisterhood amongst contributors and a community amongst readers—both of whom had to be up to taking on anything from a relatively lighthearted topic such as a color (check out the coral issue., the first-ever edition!) to heavier subjects, like xenophobia (check out both the resistance issue. and the heritage issue. for more on that topic.) I asked a few gracious and brilliant artists if they’d be willing to come along for the ride and contribute, and off we went.
When I began formatting this teeny, tiny publication, there was no incentive, or probability of profit, nor any longing to exhibit a certain genre of art. (Still isn’t!) I made it because I know what art is able to achieve and initiate, and I believed that with the help of others, a unique platform specifically designed for the women that contribute to whet could be built—the same women often ignored in their own artistic medium and the sphere that surrounds it.
Now it’s been five years since the first edition got pushed out, and I couldn’t be more grateful for the contributions of all of the artists who’ve made this effort possible. With each day, I feel a little bit more confident about what we all came to do and why we came to do it.
And trust me, it’s y’all.
Love,
Gabrielle Rae Travis
Editor-in-Chief / Literary Artist / Proud Auntie