Get a taste of Extra-Ordinary women project, come with us behind the scenes of making the podcast, and enjoy listening to some extracts from all the different episodes.  Huge thanks to our fantastic production & sounds designers Helen Malich and Christoph Brandner who made this fantastic extract, which embeds and captures the beautiful atmosphere that surrounded us for the complete duration of the project. Enjoy!

In dieser Folge führt uns Barbara Groß, eine Galeristin, die seit mehr als 30 Jahren Künstlerinnen fördert, durch ihre ersten Begegnungen mit Kunst, die sie machte, als sie mit ihrer Familie Kirchen besichtigte, und als sie alte Meister in der Alten Pinakothek entdeckte, als sie auf dem Weg zum Zahnarzt war.

Sie erzählt uns von der feministischen Bewegung in München und wie es ihr Interesse weckte, dass es kaum weibliche Künstler in den Museen gab.

Nach der Geburt ihrer Tochter reflektiert sie, was in ihrem Leben wichtig ist, und verpflichtet sich, die Arbeit von Künstlerinnen zu fördern, noch bevor sich die meisten Museen und Sammler die Mühe machten, einen zweiten Blick auf ihre künstlerische Arbeit zu werfen.

Zum Schluss erzählt sie uns, wie viel wir durch das Betrachten von Kunst über uns selbst lernen können, und sieht ihre Rolle als Vermittlerin zwischen Kunst und Öffentlichkeit.

------- http://www.barbaragross.de/

In this episode, the gallerist Barbara Gross shares her passion for art and for inspiring people to look at the work of female and young artists.

She remembers visiting museums on her trips to the dentist and being introduced to art by her parents. She recalls the feminist movement in Munich and how that opened her eyes to the almost no existence of female artists in museums, leading her to fight for better work conditions to women’s artists.

She acknowledges the advancements for women in the past years, while reinforcing that “there is still a lot to do”. Most beautifully, she reminds us that the best way to learn about art is to look at it and allow ourselves to “have a conversation” with the artworks. This will lead you to a world of discoveries.

----- http://www.barbaragross.de/

In this episode in FRENCH, the fashion designer Rahmée Wetterich takes us on a journey through her life since arriving in Germany more than 40 years ago. The work she develops together with her sister Marie embodies both their African ancestry and Bavarian tradition, bringing to life the Dirndl à l'Africaine.

Since her childhood she has always been surrounded by textiles, and comes from a very artistic family.  She highlights the diversity of “light” that makes the african’s textiles an “esprit des dance“. She talks about the common points and differences between African and German culture, but most of all, how, every time she comes back from her country of origin, she misses the “chaleur du coeur” that people in Africa have.

Learning the importance of being heard, she tried to incorporate that when raising her children, who she considers her best advisers.  If she ruled the world, she would fight injustice and she brings up the need for cooperation between women and men, as both sides bring to the table different (and needed) perspectives.

When asked about inspiration, she emphasizes that If we are open, sincere and real we will automatically inspire others.

------ https://www.nohnee.com/

Die Modedesignerin aus Kamerun Rahmée Wetterich nimmt uns mit auf eine Reise durch ihr Leben, seit sie vor mehr als 40 Jahren nach Deutschland kam. Die Arbeit, die sie zusammen mit ihrer Schwester Marie entwickelt, verkörpert sowohl die afrikanische als auch die bayerische Tradition und sie erweckten das Dirndl à l'Africaine zum Leben. Schon früh verstand sie, dass die Sprache der Schlüssel für sie war, um die Kultur zu erfassen, in der sie lebte, und erinnert sich, wie wichtig ihr Mentor für den Aufbau ihres Vertrauens als Teenager war. Als sie lernte, wie wichtig es ist, gehört zu werden, versuchte sie dies bei der Erziehung ihrer Kinder zu berücksichtigen, die sie als ihre besten Berater betrachtet. Wenn sie nach Inspiration gefragt wird, betont sie, dass sie mehr daran interessiert sei, neugierig und offen für die Welt zu bleiben, und sie bewundert die Lernbereitschaft, die sie in Afrika findet, wo sie eine soziale und kulturelle Initiative leitet.

------ https://www.nohnee.com/

In this moving and eye-opening episode, the South African Preshika Wright tells us about the support group she created for survivors of abuse. She fondly remembers her grandparents and their work to the community as well as being a teenager during the ending of Apartheid. She opens up about surviving abuse, living with PTSD and having the drive to meet up with other women who had gone through similar circumstances, thus creating the “community she was looking for”. She educates us on victim blaming and its damaging impact for the women who went through abuse, as well as suggesting how to support a loved one who has been through this situation. She shares with us the shocking numbers of domestic violence in Germany and is determined to help reverse this scenario. She is deeply inspired by all the women that, out of extraordinary strength and courage, choose to speak their truth. Above all, she hopes that by sharing her own story, “the value that that brings far outweighs the pain” that she feels when she speaks about and we can only be thankful for having had the chance to listen to her.

------ ABOUT HER: ”Preshika Wright has enjoyed success in a wide ranging career - from an international corporate executive to restaurateur to an energy therapist- but the one where she strives to make the most impact, is with her work for abuse survivors.

An abuse survivor herself, Preshika battled PTSD and depression, coming out the other side with a fierce determination to work on healing an often overlooked and misunderstood fact of life for many people - trauma arising from abuse.

Her indomitable spirit fuelled her courage to create a community for abuse survivors. The community, which started off as a support group with 6 women in 2018 has now grown to over 50.

Preshika describes herself as a fierce force of love, working tirelessly to provide a safe haven to abuse survivors, who don’t know what to do or where to go or how to start their healing journey. Women receive pro bono support from Preshika, via support group meetings, one-on-one meetings and via phone.

Anyone seeking support from this invaluable community of trauma survivors can contact Preshika directly at [email protected]”

In this episode in CANTONESE, Asian rope skipping champion and trainer Agnes Wo, originally from China but raised in Hong Kong, moved from England to Munich, where she felt like facing a “nuclear bomb”.

She talks about how, through her attitude of “not giving up” she managed to not “put a frame around” herself and to embrace every single opportunity she has.

Agnes also highlights the positive take away that she treasures from the cultures she experienced and how she now values her chinese heritage, traditions and core values.

Most of all, she talks about her rediscovered “superhero” and appreciates even more the challenges and achievements that her mum and friends had to face.

At the same time, she shares how her passion for sports and rope skipping developed and how she embeds the belief of “stay strong and never give up” in her life, which made her undefeatable.

ABOUT HER: Agnes Yu is a former Asian rope skipping champion and an honour graduate of Sports Management. She has a passion for high intensity and functional training as well as personal well-being. Agnes is currently a personal trainer and group class instructor based in Munich and delivering seminars worldwide. Her calling is to empower women to build their own confident self-image through fun and challenging workouts.

Website: www.jumpfitagnes.com

Facebook fanpage and Instagram: @jumpfitagnes

Language enthusiast from India, Sneha Chattopadhyay, shares with us her love for letter writing, a passion she developed in her childhood. “Writing is like breathing”, a refreshing way that helps her think mindfully about making decisions. She also brings to the table how letters give you an insider view on what is really happening around the world. In particular, she talks about a letter sent to Crimea which couldn’t be delivered to her penpal. Sneha, also reminds us that “life starts when you step out of your comfort zone” and that it is important to always “be the best version of yourself”. Lastly, she treats us with a special song in Hindi. Enjoy!!

------ SNEHA IN HER OWN WORDS: I am an engineer by day and mail-artist by night. I have a Masters degree in Communications Engineering from TU Munich and ~5 years of professional experience in tech. I believe that in this age of technology, the lost art of snail-mail (handwritten letters) opens up a new world of building friendships and connecting languages, cultures and art across the world like no other. Apart from letter-writing, I also enjoy singing, playing the guitar and travelling.

Connect with me on Postcrossing: @snickas | Instagram: @snickas32

In this episode in ITALIAN, Noemi Salamone takes us on a journey through her love for languages and how it started. She treasures diversity and how “traveling and the contact with other cultures makes you know yourself better and better”.

She introduces us to the German lifestyle and how childhood is perceived in a different way in comparison to Italy, while feeling herself part of a “beautiful big Europe”.

Above all, she talks about how knowing a language is key to understanding the culture and its way of thinking. At the same time, she highlights the importance of cultivating our native language as it is “the language of our hearts”. Her love for the Italian language, her artistic passion and challenges she faced living in a different country led to the creation of Insieme. A beautiful initiative created to support Bilingualism, integration, maternity and paternity through a wide range of activities. Most of all, she invites the new generations to work hard and to be a bit foolish sometimes in order to achieve their dreams.

https://insiememunich.com/home-page/