PROJECT 30SOMETHINGS
Anna Kasnyik and Courtney McMahon
Medium: Archive, Instagram, and Website
Issues: Gender Identity and Narratives
Project Links
Description
Project 30Somethings is an ever-evolving archive — a gallery that we created, that acts as a blank canvas for any woman who contributes, to express herself. The project is in the early stages of developing and revealing itself. It is a website currently, and has a social media presence only, but we see this evolving into many things: a printed book, a web series, and an interview-style podcast. We constantly remind our audience that this project “belongs to all of you”. What does it mean to be a woman in her thirties, today? It is a question that we, the two founders of Project 30Somethings, pondered in our minds many times, but by chance, one of us asked aloud to the other. We think that a thirty-something woman today is experiencing life differently than at any other time in history. In this time when our aspirations and our biology can conflict. In this time when some of the world’s most powerful countries are defining and redefining our roles, rights, and responsibilities. In this time when we feel torn between who womankind was growing up and where womankind is headed.
We are curious about the invisible support net we can make visible by sharing our truths and feelings. We want to create an archive that documents this time in all of our lives. We are gathering stories, photographs, drawings, essays, paintings, texts, anything that can be uploaded visually and eventually printed into an anthology of this moment. Project 30Somethings is an open-ended archive that asks the question: What does it mean to be a woman in her 30s now, anywhere, and everywhere in the world? We published the project in August 2019. The project has an Instagram account as well (currently over 500 followers) @project30somethings.
Bio
Anna Kasnyik (1982, Budapest, Hungary) and Courtney McMahon (1982, New York, USA) both live in Brooklyn, New York. Anna is a Graphic Designer. Courtney is a Group Account Director. They met working at an Agency in 2016. One day, on their lunch break, they started a conversation about being in their 30s and how different their experiences were. By age 32, Courtney was putting a marriage behind her and starting over with a plethora of TBD’s. Anna had already lived in five countries and created 13 “homes” by the age of 34. None of this was what their mothers told them their 30s would be like. Anna and Courtney are united by their shared curiosity for this generation of women and their passion for creative storytelling.