Atlanta, home to a broad landscape of music and artists, is renowned for its roots in gospel, R&B and blues. Women in Music, a student-led club, aims to promote and uplift female artists in Atlanta while educating students on the performing arts industry.
Midtown graduate and former club president Ruby Segerman founded Midtown’s Women in Music club. After her graduation, the presidency was given to senior Sloane Crisler, who plans to instate new initiatives as club president.
“This year, we want to spend club time making promotional posters about Atlanta-based female artists to help build their fanbases,” Crisler said. “We also want to continue having festive activities, like Chinese New Year and St. Patrick’s Day Kahoots in February and March.”
As president, Crisler coordinates meetings and communication for club members. Crisler hopes to increase membership over the upcoming school year.
“Right now … The club is really small, so I guess that’s a challenge,” Crisler said. “We lost most of our members because they graduated last year. I expect it to be difficult to build up club numbers.”
Club member, sophomore Adrienne Bartlett, believes the club’s increased social media presence will attract new students.
“I think the club will definitely continue to grow especially in this next year due to increasing meetings and media presence,” Bartlett said. “We’ve been a lot better this year with getting word out through digital platforms like Schoology and Instagram and also just by word of mouth, so we’ve been welcoming a lot of new members.”
During meetings, club members participate in activities, such as online games and crafts, and hold discussions on upcoming events and musicians. Club member, sophomore Cela Einhorn, said she appreciates the club’s camaraderie and environment.
“The community is just full of girls who all love each other and talking about things we like,” Einhorn said. “I always look forward to meetings.”
Einhorn believes the club connects different grade levels through shared interests, artists and music. As a club member, she aims to uplift and encourage local artists.
“As a club member our job is super fun,” Einhorn said. “We stay on the lookout for new music from women and especially ones coming to Atlanta who we can support.”
Crisler believes the club facilitates connections among students with musical interests.
“This club is important for students involved in performing arts, as well as those who aren’t,” Crisler said. “It allows music appreciators to enjoy a casual environment without the pressure to perform. It’s also another way to enjoy music for those who are already serious about music.”
Bartlett highlights the club’s environment, describing it as open and supportive.
“My favorite part of the club is the atmosphere,” Bartlett said. “It’s a very chill club where we just get together and talk about local artists. There’s a lot of laughter and energy.”
Bartlett believes the club encourages students to make meaningful connections to local artists.
“I think the most important part of educating people on local artists is to make people understand the artist on a personal level,” Bartlett said. “This can be by sharing the artist’s stories or background. That way people can connect with them on a more personal level and relate to them so they can understand the music better and will want to support the artist.”
Since joining the club, Bartlett said she has gained insight into Atlanta’s performing arts industry.
“Through my experience in the club, I’ve learned a lot about what it takes to support artists of different sizes within the community and what goes on in helping build these artists up that a lot of times people don’t see or think about,” Bartlett said.
Crisler believes club members have a unique opportunity to support upcoming artists within Atlanta.
“The music industry is difficult to succeed in if you are not already famous,” Crisler said. “Promoting local artists gives them the recognition they deserve for their hard work and rewards all musicians, not just ones that are products from big companies.”
The club builds strong support systems for upcoming musicians, Einhorn said.
“The most important part about educating people about local artists is that it really goes back to supporting girls and widening people’s horizons of their music taste,” Einhorn said. “It is beneficial to women and introduces people to something new.”
Crisler believes Women In Music is impactful to Atlanta’s performing arts industry. When Crisler graduates, she hopes to pass on her presidency to an underclassmen student.
“In the future, I want to build the club, [expand] the members and [get] more people involved,” Crisler said. “I hope more people know about this club and we can actually make a difference for women performing in Atlanta.”
