Origin Story
Our Anatomy Project was conceived in 2015 by sex educator and founder of The Artemis School for Women’s Sexual Sovereignty, Lara Catone. Inspiration for this project came from the challenge of teaching sexual anatomy without images that represented the entire erectile network of the vulva. Since partnering with artist Jote Lamar in 2018 the vision and potential of Our Anatomy Project has widened and developed into one of transformative sexual, and social, justice.
Community Creation
Today we, Jote and Lara, carry this project as a seed in search of a community to tend the mystery of its unfolding. We realize that this project can only be as affirming as its team is diverse. We are calling in a diverse research team identifying across spectrums of ethnicity, race, gender and ability. It is our goal to build a team that is representative and affirmative of the vast creativity of nature.
Our action research model is based in immersive group process and individual self-study. During multi-day research retreats our research team will have the opportunity to rest into mutual support and to create a group field of study. The research team will work in collaboration with OAP artist, Jote Lamar, in creating watercolor imagery of their erectile networks and crafting their personal stories. Researchers will continue documenting their journey through self-designed experiments and reflection between gatherings. All of this will culminate in an art book, educator’s kit and a free online class.
In order to do this, and to be held well as we participate on the research team, we will partner with a multiracial facilitation team rooted in transformative justice. The transformative justice team will facilitate our group process during retreats and accompany us as the project progresses. In this journey, we are dedicated to decentering whiteness and gender norms as forms of elitism and exclusivity.
This is a big proposal and it will be a work in progress. Interested in joining us for the breakdowns and breakthroughs?