#SPOTLIGHT ON KAYLA GINSBURG AND RUBY WESTERN

How did you come of age as an artist? How did you come to your current practice?

Kayla Ginsburg: I’ve always loved film. I minored in college and after moving (back) to Chicago, I discovered the dope independent film world that thrives here. That, and falling in love with the glitter beauty of the Chicago queer community funneled my dreams towards queer filmmaking. Filmmaking has always been a medium to do my favorite things: collaborate and portray the beauty/humor/complexity of sexuality and community. But basically my current practice is waking up every morning and asking myself, “What the eff am I DOING right now?” and never having an answer.

Ruby Western: I think I’m coming of age right now. That thing when you’re 14 years old and you’re totally excited about what you’re doing one minute and then completely horrified by it the next? Yeah, that. I have always loved writing, acting, painting, singing. Since I could wield scissors, I’ve put together shows and made (invited?) family and friends (to) watch them. I’ve been tinkering with what stories I want to tell and the best way to get them across. I’m still working on that. What I know is that I always want to make people laugh, and I want to talk about love and queerness and tenderness and fucking. And part of this coming of age for me is listening more and supporting other people in telling their stories.

What was the inspiration for your Open TV project?

It started about three years ago. We knew we wanted to make a web series together—Ruby had just been through a big breakup and Kayla had just ended a year-long relationship with her senior thesis on the history of lesbian sex magazines. Ruby started asking herself how she could get over heartbreak and Kayla started asking herself what a lesbian feminist magazine would look like today, so when we started throwing around ideas it just came together: a breakup story set at a fictional feminist periodical--Snatch Magazine.

What's next for you or your series?

Kayla Ginsburg: Afternoon Snatch is about to COME OUT which is so exciting and I am just as proud as my mama was when I came out. I’m cooking up a couple short dance films with my partnerlove Kaitlin Webster, but mostly I am starting a totally different venture with my little sister called The Radical Stitchery.  We embroider and sew things and make journals—basically we’re trying to change the world one stitch at a time. Different medium, same political project as Afternoon Snatch: to portray the queer-feminist-radical-respectful-sometimes-angry-but-mostly-fierce-and-lovely world we want to see.

Ruby Western: Since we wrapped, I’ve been spending my time hosting live shows, doing standup comedy, and trying to bring politics into all of it. Let’s talk about IUDs at an open mic where I’m in lineup of nine cisdudes and I have to yell over six TVs showing sports! Yes! Let’s do that!