Our Team
Liezel Strauss - Founder & Creative Director
Liezel is the founder of ArtGirlRising and the co-founder of Subject Matter. She has spoken widely on the importance of inclusion and equality in the arts globally and created projects to support the cause over the last decade. Liezel co-founded Subject Matter one of the the first online art galleries in 2011 and in 2018 she launched ArtGirlRising in support of female artists. In 2019 Liezel was chosen to be 1 of 9 innovators to represent the UN Women 'Impossible to Ignore' campaign and she was named one of the UN Women's top 100 female innovators worldwide. In 2020 Liezel co-founded Where Are The Women Artists? A database and open directory for women artists. At the moment Liezel is working on FairArt2030 a pledge project for inclusion and diversity in museums and galleries, in keeping with the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) for 2030.
Contact: liezel@artgirlrising.com
Kelly Denyard - Director & Marketing
Kelly studied marketing with over 15 years industry experience, with previous jobs in broadcasting and FMCG. For over a decade Kelly worked with creative agencies, designers, editors, producers and content creators.
Having met Liezel whilst they were both living in Malaysia, they share a deep friendship and a shared passion of women supporting women. Now living in London Kelly heads up ArtGirlRising's marketing and UK and Europe sales to help drive awareness and ultimately help change the numbers in the art world.
Contact: kelly@artgirlrising.com
Nina Sareena Idris - Community Manager
Nina is from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia born and raised. In the past 10 years, she has worked in film and theatre, design events for both local and international companies such as Disney, Airbnb, and AirAsia, co-directed a local art tour business in Kuala Lumpur, and spent her time studying art in NYC.
As our Community Manager, Nina handles all management of our online presence, as well as streamline all communications with our clients, customers, and partners. If you have ever reached out to us in the past, you’ve most likely spoken to Nina. Outside of ArtGirlRising, she is a writer, storyteller, and essayist.
Contact: sareena@artgirlrising.com
Philadelphia Printworks (PPW) - USA Printing And Production
Some of our t-shirts are printed and shipped by our partners in the the USA, Philadelphia Printworks. PPW is a social justice heritage brand and screen printing workshop. It was founded in 2010 by Maryam Pugh and Ruth Perez. PPW comprises a small team of creatives dedicated to social justice. They design and manufacture merchandise that advocates and fundraises for marginalised communities.
Philadelphia Printworks supports local and national organisations doing work in the areas of food security, police brutality, immigrant rights, lgbqt+ rights, mass incarceration, and more. Support is determined by the needs of the organisation and may be financial and/or resource based. In 2020, they raised $37,000+ for grass-root and non-profit organisations and paid $50,000+ to black, brown, and/or LGBQT+ creatives.
Gryntee Press - SE Asia Printing and Production & Special Projects
Gryntee Press was part of the ArtGirlRising fold almost right from the start, we started working with Ismail and his team in 2018 months after our launch. Together we have hand screen printed and shipped thousands and thousands of t-shirts to people, art museums and institutions in over 30 countries. Gryntee is a family owned business based in Kuala Lumpur, and they offer custom print t-shirts & apparel that are ethically made, sustainably sourced (see our Insta Stories for more info) with impeccable quality.
All our screen printing was exclusively managed by Gryntee for the first 3 years before we expanded our reach and partnerships with printers in the UK and US. Gryntee continue to manage our special projects, pre-orders and wholesale screen-printing. We could not be more proud of working with Ismail and his team and we are so grateful for Gryntee's ongoing service, support and dedication to this project.