I get asked “why cool girls?”

In my early 20s, I tried to be the textbook definition of a cool girl. You know, the type of girl who didn’t give af and apparently had no feelings. You couldn’t hurt me.

But in reality, I had feelings. A lot of it. As I got older, I realized that feeling sad or upset is not always a bad thing. Not only does it make me human, it’s also what makes me… me. Why am I sad today? What terrifies me? If I allow myself to look inwards and express myself, I can grow into the person I want to be.

As an artist, I had this vision for an exhibition of all the "Cool Girl" objects, text messages, and pieces of clothing I wanted to shed. I’m still waiting to do that exhibition but at least the name stuck!

Cool Girls Co is a reclamation of being cool. It’s about expressing yourself and defining creativity in your own terms. So in 2023, let’s throw out the outdated definition of what it means to be cool and embrace what makes you… you!

 —Ruth, Founder of Cool Girls Co

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• Submit to the Contemporary Printmaking Prize, Spring 2023. Open to UK-based artists working in the field of printmaking. No entry fees. Deadline is January 13. 
• Submit up to 12 photographs for an opportunity to be published in Issue #117: Black & White 2023 of F-Stop Magazine. No entry fees. Deadline is January 15. (Fun fact, Ruth's photos were published here once!)
• Open call for international artists working across a variety of mediums and disciplines for the 5th edition of the Swiss magazine Where Flowers Bloom. No entry fees. Deadline is January 24. 
• Open call for short films up to 5 min for a virtual and in-person screening at SHED gallery in Milwaukee, WI. No entry fees. Deadline is February 5.
• Submit up to 2 photographs of an object from your personal collection and a short text of its significance for The Enigma of Objects, Edition 2 — Cycles. No entry fees. Submissions on a rolling basis.