Ruth Schemmel’s project for the 2022 Jack Straw Program is a collection of short stories about women who don’t fit in. In her conversation with curator Michael Schmeltzer, she talks about the series of events that led her to take her art seriously, as well as the expectations placed on women in the modern day. “I’m sort of exploring dissatisfactions and frustrations through these stories. Definitely my characters are not role models.”

Music by Ran Park, produced through the Jack Straw Artist Support Program.