Women Artist: Hindsight on the Play and Pause Mode

According to Madam Ngozi-Omeje Ezema, different authors posit that women when compared with men, are taking a frayed and nonlinear career path in which career interrupons are expected to happen at certain points in their life (Xinyi Bian and Jia Wang). In this paper, play and pause simply refer to careerinterruponsfor women arsts. The wily and unwingly decision of not praccing for a while has potenal negave consequences. Thisfostersdisconneconfromtheprofessionalmainstreamandisolaonfromexperiencedpraconers.

It has been observed that aer marriage, women put families above all while grinning through challenges and difficules. Thus, most women arsts are compelled by circumstances to pause their careers at certainpointsbecauseofashiincareerfocusorfamily responsibilies. Sylvia A. Hewle and Carolyn B. Luce state that when women feel hammered by difficult situaons, they are much more likely to respond to familypull.

Oenmes, when a woman decides to pracce again, she becomes estranged from the tools, materials, medium and the art community. During the COVID-19 pandemic, most women arsts became acve using Informaon and Communicaon Technology (ICT). ICT offered an open window for women arsts to keep some level of presence in their profession despite societalresponsibilies.

To illuminate how ICT has helped women arsts during the COVID-19 pandemic. Omeje researched women arsts' acvies during the Covid-19 pandemic. she was exposed to the proliferaon of women parcipaon in online art challenges. This was more vibrantduringthepandemic,sheobserved.

Understandably, before COVID-19, praccing art involved physical parcipaon more than virtual reality. Madam Omeje said Covid 19 cracked open the virtual world for many professions including women arsts.

According to Omeje, women arsts in her community who were mostly inacve (on pause mode) created online studio pages during the pandemic. They also engaged in online art challenges through the produconofnewartworks. women in the arts share experiences on “digitall: innovaon and technology for gender equality” within the COVID-19 context.

The opportunies social media created, and the insight gained were progressive and beneficial at a mewhendespairanduncertaintypredominated.

An experienced ceramist and educator

Ngozi-Omeje Ezema graduated from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka in 2005, Department of Fine Applied Arts. She also obtained her Master of Fine Arts from the same departmentandinstuon.

Aer her MFA, she was retained as a lecturer in her Alma Mata to teach Ceramics since May 2009. Ngozi-Omeje has parcipated in several naonal and internaonal workshops, exhibions, and biennales.