We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Gigi Stoll a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Gigi, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s jump right into how you came up with the idea?
In 2020, when Covid plagued the city, I was isolated in my apartment, unable to engage in the service work that sustained my life in New York. I thought about my dear friend, photographer Flo Fox, 77, stuck at home in Chelsea. We had always had an almost symbiotic, artistic friendship since meeting in 1991, and we were no longer able to meet for our weekly photography talks and creative projects. I thought about other older female artists, similarly isolated and perhaps with archives of important work that wasn’t getting the attention it deserved. I kept thinking about them shuttered away, perhaps without a platform or voice for their work or the technical or marketing skills to get their art into the public eye. With that idea in mind, Two by Two Media was born. Flo Fox is the inspiration and Artist #1.
Today, Two By Two Media works with 9 incredible women artists who have been dedicated to their craft and celebrated for their work and creative passion. LATEST NEWS: Artist #10 just joined Two by Two Media in May 2024! She’s 101 years old and fabulous! Her name is Vija Vētra, a Latvian dancer and former choreographer and classical Indian dancer. She has been based in the United States since 1964.
“Life does not end at 70, there is no age limit to creativity, art, or friendship.” – Gigi Stoll, Founder, Two By Two Media
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
Originally from San Antonio, Texas, I arrived in New York in 1990. Since then, I have always given back to the city that has given me so much. Being of service has always been the best therapy for me. So, starting that first year in New York, I began volunteering with the Red Cross visiting elder New Yorkers, reading to children and continued my active volunteering with AIDS/HIV-service organization Bailey House, Meals on Wheels, Police Athletic League, Make-A-Wish Foundation, New York Cares, and SAGE (Services & Advocacy for LGBT Elders).
Currently, I am a volunteer photographer with XO World Project Foundation, they provide free essential healthcare, clean drinking water, training of heath care professionals and economic empowerment for women and children in developing countries such as: Ghana, Kenya, Peru, Guatemala, Egypt, etc.
Two By Two Media provides women artists over the age of 70, free technical, marketing and consulting support—and the critical inspiration and personal attention they need to thrive and remain visible in their artistic careers.
Two by Two is growing, and needs support, both financially and voluntarily. These resources help our artists with professional development, digital presence, technical assistance, legacy and portfolio mentoring, archiving & cataloguing, exhibition support (printing/framing), publication assistance, marketing and personal one-on-one interaction and inspiration.
We’re thrilled to assist the often overlooked women artists over the age of 70 with the support they need to PURSUE, ENHANCE and MARKET their creative endeavors, and more importantly, thrive in a world that renders them invisible.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
Reverence for Female Elders.
Two by Two Media continues to grow organically. We have several artists who are interested in joining Two by Two Media but do not have the help or resources to take on more artists. My dream is to create a network of chapters in different cities, so that elder female artists over 70 years of age will always have the resources they need to achieve their dreams – at no cost. They earned it and our RESPECT for the lives they still LIVE.
The more women come together and SUPPORT one another, the more we can change the world.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
Helping others, whether strangers or friends, has always been an intrinsic one. I feel that we learn the most from our children and elderly. And we need to take better care of both.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.twobytwomedia.org/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/twobytwomedia/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GigiStollPhotography/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gigistoll
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/GigiStoll
- Other: https://www.gigistoll.com/
Image Credits
Two By Two Media Artist Artworks:
1. Flo Fox – Shades of The PasT, NY 1979
2. West Murray – My Baby, NY 1999
3. Tziporah Salamon – Portrait by Gigi Stoll, Rockway 2023
4. Donna Bassin – Environmental Melancholia. Precarious Places. 56, 2023
5. Meryl Meisler – Mom Getting her hair Teased at Besame Beauty Salon, North Massapequa, NY, June 1976
6. Salimah Ali – Black Beauty, Paris, 2023
7. Sheila Schwid – “Inextricably,” 30″x24″ oil on linen, NY 2023
8. Donna Ferrato – Fanny and her Grandma, Cleveland Ohio 1986
9. Edwina Sandys – Catfish in the Library, 1990
10. Vija Vētra (Image from Vija Vētra archives)
11. Two by Two Media Logo