Kathy Brew

Interview conducted by Rachel Helm on January 18, 2024 in New York, NY

Kathy Brew is an artist, writer, curator, and educator based in New York City. Brew has been involved in a diverse range of independent, experimental film and video projects, including the documentary Design is One: Leila & Massimo Vignelli, co-directed with Brew’s late husband and collaborator Roberto Guerra. Brew was the recipient of the 2018 Fullbright U.S. Scholar grant for her work on a film and photography portfolio Following the Thread (2021), which highlighted the work of indigenous weaving communities in Peru. She has been published by the Brooklyn Rail, Women, Art, & Technology, and Documentary magazine, and has featured as a guest curator at the Museum of Modern Art’s film department and the Lincoln center New York Film Festival, among others. In this excerpt, Brew describes first meeting Schneemann in 1991, when she was introduced by performance artist Linda Montano. The two maintained a close friendship over the following decades, sharing what they called “the goddess connection.”