Artemis Singers

Artemis Singers is an American lesbian feminist chorus based in Chicago, Illinois and a member of the feminist chorus cooperative Sister Singers Network.^[1][2][3][4] Named after the Greek goddess Artemis,^[5] its goals are to create positive change in cultural attitudes toward women and female artists and to "increase the visibility of lesbian feminists."^[6][7]

Founded in 1980, it is one of the earliest lesbian feminist choruses in the United States. In 1983, Artemis was the only lesbian chorus to take part in the first national gay and lesbian choral festival, titled Come Out and Sing Together.^[8] In 2008, Artemis was inducted into the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame.^[9] The group only performs music created by female composers or lyricists, or arranged by female arrangers.^[10] Over the years, Artemis has sung music by many women, including women's music movement artists such as Holly Near and Kay Gardner (composer).^[11] During the group's early period, they had an assigned traditional music director (Susan Schleef) but the system gradually evolved into a self-organized, non-hierarchical system.^[10][12] Currently, several members act as music directors during each performance.^[9]