Kay D. Ray

Kay D. Ray has spent decades creating films which honor the work of musicians, artists, education and history, ranging from feature documentary films to short form films. Her film, Lady Be Good; Instrumental Women in Jazz, brought the stories of women in jazz to a wider audience, telling stories that have been hidden or ignored in the dominant press. The films Anne Gould Hauberg; Visionary, a Northwest arts patron and Ernestine Anderson; There Will Never Be Another You, Northwest Jazz great and the interactive for Washington State Historical Society’s exhibit Women’s Votes, Women’s Voices tells the stories of Northwest women whom few have recognized. Other work includes Jumpin’ With The Big Bands, 85 films for EMP, dozens of films for the Museum of History and Industry and Albuquerque and the Personal Computer Revolution.

Kay received 2017 GAP funding for the film project In Her Hands: Key Changes in Jazz. In Her Hands, will be Kay’s 3rd feature film (plus dozens of short films for EMP) celebrating the work of women musicians. She has dedicated her artistic career in recognizing these artists and bringing these stories to a wider public. We need to honor their years of artistic achievement, dedicated musicianship and their unstoppable perseverance as players, role models and teachers. This work is more relevant than ever with our current political climate where gender equality has a long way to go.The Artist Trust funding will help Kay edit the Seattle Story segment.