May 2, 2023
This episode is all about the
Women's Building, a structure on 18th Street in
the Mission that has served so many purposes for more than 50
years.
In Part 1, we
talk with two members of the Women's Building
staff—Maria Arteaga, Women's Building content
specialist/social media manager, and Kristen
Acosta, their community engagement
coordinator. Maria starts us off by sharing her life story. She was
raised in Puebla, Mexico, and was there until she was 28.
That's when she went for PhD in Barcelona for four years,
followed by a stint in Zurich, Switzerland.
After Maria's partner moved to San Francisco for work, she visited
and loved it here. She arrived in March 2019, soon discovered the
Women's Building, and the rest is history.
Then we hear from Kristen. She's from El Paso, Texas, originally.
She went to college in San Antonio, worked there a little after
graduating, then made her way out west with her partner. Kristen
volunteered at Glide and St. Anthony's before her arrival at the
Women's Building. She first volunteered, became the receptionist
after that, and then moved into her current role.
Both guests share the history of the Women's Building, which goes
back more than 50 years, when a group of activists formed
the San Francisco Women's Centers. Soon in need of their
own venue to hold events and generally be able to do more, they
found their current home on 18th Street. Fun fact—back in the day,
Valencia Street's Dovre Club lived in the corner of the
building.
We go through some of the intentions and accomplishments of the
building. From the outset, the aim was to be collective and
inclusive. Maria says that the founders were the "original
intersectional feminists." The first Black lesbian conference in
the US was held there in the 1980s. Over the years, there have
been many programs at the Women's Building for the LGBTQ and Latinx
community, in addition to poetry readings and other art events.
Check back next week for Part 2 with Maria and Kristen all about
the many things that go on at the Women's Building these
days.
We recorded this podcast
at The
Women's Building in April 2023.
Photography by Jeff Hunt