Mount Pleasant Magazine Nov/Dec 2020

www.CharlestonWomen.com | www.ReadCW.com | www.CharlestonBrides.com CW charleston women Y ou might say Fer Caggiano paints like a girl. From her home studio in Mount Pleasant, she’s creating a new exhibition highlighting the accomplishments of intelligent, feisty Lowcountry women, and she’s doing it with sparkles. Called “Like a Girl,” her project aims to inspire women and girls to ignore the put- downs, catcalls and naysayers — and to follow their dreams. A native of Sao Paulo, Brazil, Caggiano is no stranger to catcalls. Growing up, she inhabited a world that was both warm and loving yet alarmingly sexist. Men in Brazil didn’t think twice about harassing women. “It was like they’re undressing you with the things they said,” she said. Caggiano pursued marketing and advertising early on but didn’t love it. When an opportunity emerged to move to the United States, she eagerly took it, living in New Jersey and immersing herself in the art world of New York City. She volunteered at the Museum of Modern Art, and when her LA2 visa kept her from working or attending a university, she began classes at the Art Students League of New York with artist Philip Sherrod. There, BY LEAH RHYNE The Fine Art of Femininity Fer Caggiano’s “Like a Girl” Exhibit Artwork courtesy of Fer Caggiano.