Farewell to WMG’s First Exhibitions of 2013

Reflections on Public/Private, Exquisite Uterus Project and solo show by Julia Ris

January 18-February 21, 2013        

Woman Made Gallery 2013 exhibition season began with three simultaneous and equally stimulating shows.

“Public/Private”

Felicia Diaz – Monotony: Self-Portrait
pastel on mat board
35 x 28 inches

“Public/Private” a group exhibition with 32 works by 29 artists, explored a unique juxtaposition between private experiences, thoughts, and emotions, and the public world. Each piece is a personal testament to how the public and private spheres of our lives are now endlessly intertwined via television, advances in technology, and social media.

In a society filled with texting, news feeds, and tweets, it’s becoming more and more difficult to

have a conversation face to face. Social media and technology as a whole have, unfortunately, turned us into impersonal creatures. In some ways, these things have allowed us to possess a voice without a face. In turn, it’s gotten harder to share things with others on a personal level without the crutch of a phone, laptop or tablet.

Felicia Diaz’s Monotony: Self Portrait is a unique response to this phenomenon. She writes, “My work deals directly with the struggle of individuals to present themselves to the public world in a way that is both honest and fulfilling. In society, I feel that the process of how to act in various social settings has become more confusing and convoluted than ever before, because of things like social media and the growth of technology.”  In her work, Diaz wants the viewer to sense the disconnect and struggle to see who the person being depicted really is behind all the layers. http://feliciadiaz.com/

Patricia Bellan-Gillen- Doubt/Beautiful Wound
digital print with colored pencil
20 x 29 inches

In an artistic interpretation that is similar to Diaz’s but with less emphasis on social media and its effect on the individual, Patricia Bellan-Gillen states, “Front and center in the living room of our homes for decades and now often in every room and beyond, the television screen stands like an animated idol in our lives: a contemporary totem to our “Ojo de Dios”. The ubiquitous television has brought the public into our private lives and the private into our public sphere.” To learn more about Patricia Bellan-Gillen and her work, visit http://patriciabellangillen.com/

Meredith and Anna

In their performance “Best/Worst” Meredith Weber and Anna Trier invite the public to display their day-to-day emotions through the distribution of balloons. They explain, “In an age where our thoughts, moods and whims are constantly being broadcast via social media, “Best/Worst” seeks to visualize these exclamations. During the opening reception, both Meredith and Anna distributed the balloons outside of WMG, allowing pedestrians to select their balloon “Best or Worst, Fucking Day Ever”. Afterward, they installed the additional balloons inside the gallery and continued to distribute them to gallery visitors.

Best/Worst- performance

This performance serves as both a parody of the daily public airing of private feelings and experiences that so many of us participate in when we use social media, as well as an exercise in regaining our autonomy in choosing what we do decide to make public. The balloons can be used as sarcastic or literal interpretations of our internal lives, displayed proudly for anyone to see. For more on Meredith and Anna visit http://www.meredithandanna.us/

Public/Private exhibiting artists included Patricia Bellan-Gillen, Corinna Button, Elena Dahl, Felicia Diaz, Hannah Fehrman, Aidan Fitzpatrick, Anja Foerschner, Ghislaine Fremaux, Lizeth Gamboa, Alexandra Goode, Magdalene Gorecki-Eisenberg, Leah Gose and Ashlae Shepler, Kathy Halper, Eric Rachel Hudak, Robin James, Aunia Kahn, A. Keitz, Careen Joplin Langstieh, Sioban Snyder, Meredith Weber and Anna Trier, Jennifer Weigel, Jean Davey Winter, and Sarah B. Woods.

“Exquisite Uterus Project” - In conjunction with “Public/Private”, the lower level of Woman Made Gallery hosted over 150 interpretations of uteri, made by both artists and non-artists.

The exhibition has its origins in reaction to what is being called the most current ‘War on Women’, from which fiber artist and educator Alison Gates and Helen Klebesadel decided to offer feminists the opportunity to participate in this collaborative art project. The goal was to channel some of the rage experienced in response to the attacks on women’s reproductive health in this increasingly political environment.

Kathleen Buchanan – Don’t Tread on Me
mixed media
12 x 12 inches

The “public/private” theme connects with this exhibition as well, in that the female reproductive system is a very personal topic, yet it is continuously exploited by the politicians who are turning it into a public dispute.

Curators Gates and Klebesadel write,”We have a vision for a world where every woman is free to decide whether and when to have children; where every woman has access to the best reproductive healthcare available; where every woman can exercise her choices without coercion or discrimination. It turned out others share that vision too, and within the limits of the project these creatives have expressed their perspective on the issues in fiber, paint, bead, and sequins. The response has been awe inspiring.”

Solo Show: Julia Ris

Julia Ris – Awry
encaustic on board
48 x 36 inches

The third and final exhibition at Woman Made Gallery was a refreshing break from the interrogative nature of Public/Private and The Exquisite Uterus Project. Chicago Artist Julia Ris exhibited encaustic work in her solo show entitled, “Working the Angles: The Julia Set”.

Ris’s painting “Scaffold” won first prize back in May 2011 in WMG’s “Abstractions” exhibition juried by Sandra Perlow, and she was awarded this solo show. Ris’s work has been exhibited at other galleries in the Chicago area as well.

Ris’s work is beautifully crafted with a myriad of bold colors and shapes, some structured and geometric, others purely organic. The combination created a visually stimulating and lively space with an energetic urban feel in the gallery. Not to mention it smelled wonderful!

Julia Ris – Cut Away
encaustic on board
12 x 12 inches

Ris comments, “More and more over the years I find myself drawn to the complexity and surprise of what lies beneath the surface. I build the layers. I’m compelled to scratch through to expose what is alluded to or hidden. Though I love oils, the immediacy of the encaustic medium has a huge appeal and allows me to layer, scratch through and build up surfaces. Wielding a blowtorch adds to the thrill.”

More on Julia Ris can be found at www.juliaris.com and www.fusedchicago.org/interviews/featured-artist-julia-ris/

Although we are sad to see these exhibitions go, we are looking forward to welcoming the 16^th International Open and concurrent solo shows, on display from March 1^st through April 25^th.

- Nichole Wallace,  Gallery Intern

“Women Working in Clay” and “State of G/Race” by Sapphire and Crystals

State of G/Race Opening on November 9, 2012

20 Years Strong: Women Working in Clay | Sapphire and Crystals: State of G/Race | November 9 – December 23, 2012

In celebration of WMG’s 20th Anniversary, we are hosting two fabulous exhibitions: “State of G/Race” with work by Sapphire and Crystals, a collective of professional African American women artists in Chicago, and “20 Years Strong: Women Working in Clay” on display at the lower level of the Gallery.

“Women Working in Clay” Opening with Gail Holmberg, Linda Hillman and Joan Friedberger in front of Virginia Scotchie’s ceramic wall installation.

20 Years Strong: Women Working in Clay includes work by 21 clay artists from all over the U.S. The show demonstrates the varied and powerful contributions women ceramic artists make to the art world. Entries were curated by Linda Hillman, a ceramics artist who holds a B.A. in Art and Art History, a M.S. in Visual Communication from the Illinois Institute of Technology, and a M.S. in Applied Linguistics from the Illinois Institute of Technology.

In her curatorial statement, Linda Hillman writes: “My vision has been to showcase the conceptual strength, beauty, and skill women demonstrate in their ceramic work—the contemporary vessel, the quotidian pot, sculpture, and figuration. It is a big goal and women’s contributions to the art world are wider than this show can accommodate. However, ‘Women Working in Clay’ is a tribute to women who have forged a place for themselves and others in ceramics.

”Included are ceramic works by Mary Barringer, Meredith Brickell, Linda Christianson, Anne Currier, Andrea Gill, Silvie Granatelli, Jan McKeachie Johnston, Gail Kendall, Eva Kwong, Winnie Owens-Hart, Donna Polseno, Angelica Pozo, Liz Quackenbush, Annabeth Rosen, Virginia Scotchie, Ellen Shankin, Linda Sikora, Sandy Simon, Susanne Stephenson, Jerilyn Virden, and Paula Colton Winokur.

A State of G/Race is a group exhibition  featuring art by Sapphire and Crystals, a collective of professional African American women artists in Chicago who are celebrating their 25th Anniversary. It includes new art work addressing the theme, and a collaborative altar installation.

“State of G/Race” Opening
Joyce Owens (right) with Shyvette Williams

Conceived initially by Marva Pitchford Jolly and Felicia Grant Preston, the idea that women artists of African descent produce their own shows resulted in the collective’s first exhibition at the historic South Side Community Art Century (SSCAC) in 1987, with the second exhibition following at Nicole Gallery in Chicago’s River North in 1988. Throughout its 25 year history Sapphire and Crystals has held exhibitions at many galleries and art centers within the city and beyond. The individual personal work by each member addressing various themes such as race and gender, limited palettes, and honoring their pasts, exemplifies the diversity within the group. The signature self-portrait silent auction takes bids during the opening reception and presents affordable collecting opportunities for visitors on the first night only. The collaborative site-specific altar installation is an exhibit feature distinct to this collective.

Curator, Joyce Owens earned a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree from Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. A professor of painting and drawing at Chicago State University, she also curates for the two on-campus galleries. Owens has been sought out to jury fine art exhibitions and art fairs at the Museum of Science and Industry, The DuSable Museum, the Women’s Caucus for Art and The Wells Street Art Fair to name a few. Owens serves on the Advisory Committee for the Department of Cultural Affair’s Chicago Artists Month since 2002. She consults with the Chicago Artists Coalition, and is on the Advisory Board of Woman Made Gallery. Owens is an associate editor for The Journal of African American History.

Included are works in a variety of media by Rose Blouin, Makeba Kedem Dubose, Juarez Hawkins, Renee Williams Jefferson, Marva Pitchford Jolly, Joyce Owens, Felicia Grant Preston, Joanne Scott, Patricia Stewart, Dorian Sylvain, Shirley J. Sullivan, Pearlie Taylor, Arlene Turner-Crawford, Rhonda Wheatley, Shahar Caren Weaver, and Shyvette Williams.

Sapphire and Crystals will be hosting a special event on December 15th from 12 to 5 p.m. which includes a fine art sale and a film screening in honor and memory of Marva Jolly who recently passed away. Mudpeoples: A Portrait of Clay Artist Marva Jolly, by Shuli Eshel will be shown at 2:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

 

During the opening reception on November 9th I had the pleasure of viewing amazing art by so many talented individuals, individuals that you would be proud to know. These women show incredible diversity and integrity in their work. I can only hope to one day be as established and accomplished as they are.

“State of G/Race” Opening
with artwork by Patricia Stewart

-Lola Ogbara, Gallery Intern

20 Neighborhoods Comes to a Close… for a moment.

Possibilities for Phase 2, and Reflection on the Final Exhibition

Closing event

On November 1^st, 20 Neighborhoods community members, including Teaching Artists, participating Artists, and Partner Organization representatives, gathered at Woman Made Gallery to say goodbye to the 20 Neighborhoods Exhibition. This final meeting marked the end of the project’s first phase, which included the curriculum design sessions and teacher trainings in the Spring, the Summer art-making workshops that took place across the city, the citywide gatherings at Woman Made Gallery, and the exhibition.

We used the time together to reflect on the project thus far and discuss the development of a “Phase 2”, to take place in 2013. At the end of the evening we dismantled the collaborative fiber installation in the gallery’s atrium, cutting fabric pieces and untying braids as mementos to take home.

What’s Next?

With over 25 people present, the anecdotes and prescriptions based on the past experience of the project, as well as dreams for what will come next, were many and varied. In looking back, a number of people expressed that the “professional” setting of Woman Made Gallery elevated and validated their experience of art making and presentation, as well as community building.

In terms of art-making, there seemed to be a general consensus that if we are going to pursue another project that involves art workshops, then we need to build in more studio time for both skill-learning and art-creation, as well as pursue more better funding for more abundant materials.

As we talked about the concrete ways in which community building took place, both in the individual workshop groups and in the gallery as a whole, it became clear that many are interested in deepening those connections with other groups across the city. Taking the difficulties of geography and transportation into consideration, many ideas for a Phase 2 focused on leveraging the new connections and networks created through the project in order to group two or more partner organizations that could create and/ or exhibit artwork together, both at Woman Made and other gallery spaces throughout the city, as well as perhaps outdoors.

Exhibition Event Series

This meeting was also the last event in a month-long series that accompanied the October exhibition. In summary:

Poetry Reading - On October 18^th we held a poetry reading, which included both a reading of original poetry by participating artist Victoria Rowels who worked with South Side Community Arts Center, as well as research and poetry from the poets Emily Dickinson and Audre Lorde by participating artist Sharon Stillwell from Mercy Housing South Loop Apartments. Stillwell’s exploration of Dickinson and Lorde, while fascinating on its own, also provided an interesting historical context for Rowels’s original poetry, which focuses on the history of African Americans in the U.S., and connects it to present-day violence and activism in Black communities.

Film Screening and Discussion: The Invisible War - On October we screened “The Invisible War”, a documentary on the epidemic of rape and sexual assault within the U.S. military. This was followed by a discussion with Sabrina Waller, member of Iraq Vets Against the War and participating artist with Living Art Center’s Women Vets Art Group. In conversation with Art Therapist and Teaching Artist Suellen Semekoski, Waller spoke about her own military history and subsequent anti-war activism and art making. She highlighted the importance of art therapy in treatment for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and ended with a reflection on how veterans are very well-positioned to be peace activists, asking: “If veterans can define non-violence, what else can they do?”

 Artist Talk: Victoria Martinez - On October 20th, Victoria Martinez, Teaching Artist at Yollocalli in Pilsen, and designer of the collaborative fiber installation for the 20 Neighborhoods Exhibition, gave an artist talk in which she discussed her art practice and shared images of past and current work. She also talked about her work as an art teacher in various schools and organizations across the city. She reflected on her use of found fabric and fibers, particularly in the context of her site-specific work. She also contrasted the more horizontal and adult-centered environment that she had to navigate when she designed and directed the 20 Neighborhoods fiber installation, with the classroom settings she is used to as a teaching artist working with children and teens.

Panel Discussion: Creating Community Beyond Place - Finally, on October 27th, we hosted a panel discussion, moderated by Suellen Semekoski (Women Vets Art Group). Entitled “Creating Community Beyond Place”, the event featured 20 Neighborhoods Artists from Partner Organizations that focus on building community beyond geographic place. From Arts of Life we had Frances Roberts and Jean Wilson with Caitlin Law, their Arts Coordinator. From Center on Halsted we had Cassandra Herring, Louise Klie, Eva Skye, and Teaching Artist Veronica Stein. And from the Women Vets Art Group we had Emily Siefken and Sabrina Waller.

The main inquiry was: how does art-making help us connect through shared experiences and identities? Panelists shared ideas and stories about how art making has inspired both personal autonomy and interpersonal exchange. The discussion was quite candid, with panelists bringing up artistic and emotional breakthroughs and at times painful pieces of personal history. The most compelling moments included an exchange between Cassandra Herring, who is active duty military, and the two women veterans in the room who are both anti-war activists, as well as Eva Skye’s explanation of what geographic space means to her as a transgender person, particularly in terms of personal safety. We ended with a reflection on what it feels like to be truly in community with others.

And now…

In the spirit of that “community feeling”, we are looking forward to continuing the development of “20 Neighborhoods: Phase 2” with the now more-solidified community that formed through Phase 1. We are anticipating some beautiful and unexpected changes as a result of this shift in context.

After a little break, we are excited to move ahead in December, using the same collaborative and participatory design process of surveys and meetings that we used to create “Phase 1”. Keep an eye out for updates on the project’s evolution, and as always, feel free to get in touch with questions and ideas!

–Ruby Thorkelson, 20 Neighborhoods Project Director & Gallery Coordinator

For more information on the 20 Neighborhoods Project, check out:

• 20 Neighborhoods Documentary
• 20 Neighborhoods Exhibition Catalog
• 20 Neighborhoods Online Gallery

 

2 Nights, 70 People, Countless Post-its, and Limitless Connections: The First City-Wide 20 Neighborhoods Artist Meetings at WMG

First 20 Neighborhoods Artist Meeting: Discussing how and where we connect with other people in our neighborhoods and communities

The first week of August marked the first two city-wide 20 Neighborhoods meetings at Woman Made Gallery, focused on bringing participating artists, teaching artists, and partner organizations together to meet one other, share experiences and aspirations, and contribute to the development of the upcoming exhibition. With about 45 people present for the first meeting, and the about 25 present for the second, both evenings were alive with vibrant with conversation, shared ideas, and at some points, strong emotions.

Two women discussing the symbolism of the feather, while the group in the mid-background discusses the hammer, and the group in the left-hand background discusses the plate, fork, and knife

In the spirit of found-object assemblage, attendees first gathered around stations containing various objects (a hammer, a feather, needle and thread, colored pencils, a plate, fork, and knife) to meet one another and discuss their shared and diverging interpretations of the objects’ symbolism.

At the station containing four pencils of ranging colors, two women remarked that they identified most with the blue pencil, which for them was reminiscent of the sky and also contained symbols of freedom, openness, and levity.

A number of women connected with each other over the needle and thread because it reminded them of their mothers with their thrift and ingenuity in fixing the family’s clothing and taking care of their homes. One woman shared that she recently came close to throwing out a purse because the lining was ripped up, but then she remembered her mother and decided to mend it, which brought her a sense of satisfaction: “I felt really good!”.

Two women introduce themselves as they discuss the symbolism of the feather

From there we switched from the exploration and discussion of objects to discussing questions about our neighborhoods and communities such as: “What would make you feel safer?”, “If you could travel anywhere in Chicago where would you go?”, “What do you like about the schools in your neighborhood, and what would you change?”, “If you could put your artwork from this project anywhere in your neighborhood for others to see, where would you put it?”. The conversations that emerged from these questions were rich with experiences and ideas that intertwined, connected, and diverged.

Writing and drawing ideas on post-its

After discussing these questions, we wrote and drew our ideas on post-it notes and put them on the wall under the discussion questions. Here is some of what emerged:

“There’s just enough happening but I don’t always feel like I’m part of it. I wish there were more community events in the streets”. “I would like to see more art in my neighborhood that is made by locals or by the school children”. “Art in trees! Art on tables! Art in windows!”. “I would like to feel safer in my neighborhood. If there was a regular walking patrol in the neighborhood (at least a bike patrol in the residential portion)”. “I like that the schools in Pilsen have art programs or are close in proximity to FREE arts programming. I would change outdated books and add sociology to the curriculum by law”. “I wish using PACE was easier so I can meet new people”. “I refuse to be afraid”.

One of the most interesting conversations to emerge from this activity was in response to the statement “I would like to quality education for the children of my neighborhood”, which sparked a lively debate on education and parenting. One woman from the workshops at Imagine Englewood If brought up that her son gets out of school suspension for 10 days just for talking back to a teacher. She expressed that this kind of disciplinary action is making it hard for her to parent and for him to learn since there is no mechanism for him to get caught up once he returns to school, and it is hard for her to keep an eye on him during the day when he is out of school for suspension.

Many in the room agreed and voiced concerns about how the system could be improved to make out of school suspension less frequent and to put mechanisms in place to help students catch up if they are suspended. Another woman, who is a teacher and is participating in the South Side Community Art Center workshops, offered her perspective about how hard it is to teach when students are disruptive, and that disciplinary action is the only tactic or power teachers feel they have, and parents need to do more at home to make sure their kids are better behaved.

Another woman from the Imagine Engelwood If group brought up the work that their organization does around lead abatement and mentioned that lead poisoning is linked to learning and behavioral problems, and that it is important to address this in any conversation about education and discipline in Chicago schools. While the discussion felt tense, it also felt like productive. There was somewhat general agreement that these issues are part of a systemic problem and that we need to keep talking and learning from one another.

Discussing what’s on the post-its

We ended both the meetings discussing the exhibition and all of its various components, with the hope that participating artists can be fully integrated in the exhibition process.

At the first meeting we began to discuss what kinds of panel discussions and artist talks could coincide with the exhibition. We are already looking forward to presentations from the workshop of women war veterans at Living Arts Center, as well as the artists at Center on Halsted, who are interested in a public exploration of their group’s diversity in age, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality.

At the second meeting we had a little time to talk about the layout of the exhibition and brought up some of the questions we will be dealing with more explicitly at the exhibition planning meetings. For an example, we posed the question: “Should the assemblages be grouped by neighborhood/ organization, or intermixed?”. Many people in the room voiced that they would prefer to see the assemblages grouped together with others from the same workshop group as a way to understand the city. Many brought up various ways that a geographic or spacial presentation of the city could be linked to the display of assemblages in the space. Ideas included:

-Designating the back of the gallery as North and the front as South, or the downstairs as South and the upstairs as North, and placing assemblages accordingly

-Using the image of the subway system to designate neighborhoods, either with colored electric tape on the floor, or colored tape, string, or wire on the ceiling

-Hanging signs (maybe that look like street signs) from the ceiling to show which neighborhood is which

Kristina Tendilla, the teaching artist from Benton House, in Bridgeport brought up the idea of creating some kind of activity book or scavenger hunt, either printed separately or as part of the catalog, that would allow visitors to connect the work of women in one neighborhood to the work of women in another by finding similarities and differences.

We are looking forward to focusing in on the exhibition at upcoming city-wide 20 Neighborhoods meetings on August 15^th and September 5^th. Stay tuned for updates!

To see more photos from the meetings, check out our facebook album and make sure to “like” 20 Neighborhoods on facebook if you haven’t already!

20 Neighborhoods: A Mid-project Update

What began as a conversation about building the Woman Made Gallery community and the challenge of the seeming exclusivity of the art world has manifested into a truly special project within the city of Chicago. In celebration of Women Made Gallery’s 20^th Anniversary, 20 Neighborhoods has taken on the unique task of working within 20 different and vibrant neighborhoods throughout Chicago, many of them lacking in access to arts programming. To make this a reality, Woman Made Gallery partnered with twenty Chicago community-based, arts-based, and housing organizations to create an art exhibition based on Chicago women’s individual and collective experiences and aspirations for their homes, families, neighborhoods, communities, and city.

With the help of teaching artists, teaching assistants, partner organizations, interns, and countless volunteers, 20 Neighborhoods has successfully introduced a diverse group of individuals to an array of artistic skills and abilities, as well as created space for new conversations on self, home, community, and city. Since June, Woman Made Gallery has hosted found-object assemblage sculpture workshops for participating women, and in some cases youth, at each organization’s location, which will culminate in an exhibition of all the participants’ art pieces, writing, additional project documentation, and a group-created site-specific installation at Woman Made Gallery in October of 2012. The exhibition will be one of 12 featured programs for Chicago Artists Month.

As many of the teaching artists have noted, participating artists have been extremely excited and eager to work with the various provided art materials bringing personal objects from home for incorporation. Not only have these women been creating found-object assemblages, they have also been introduced to very specific artistic techniques that many were not familiar with, such as gel medium transfers and paper making. Many artists have incorporated these newly learned techniques into their own work. Using the themes of “self”, “home”, and “community” as catalysts to develop their artwork thematically, the artists have also had opportunities to reflect on themselves, their families, and their visions for their neighborhoods and communities.

Teaching artist Kristina Tendilla shares the words of her workshop participants at Benton House in Bridgeport: ‘“It’s great because we get to make…us” said 12 year old Amaya. Her mother echoed this. Quite a few of the ladies expressed that they’re grateful to be able to designate time for creativity in their busy lives through this workshop. Even the women who admitted that they don’t consider themselves to be ‘artistic’ or ‘creative’ felt at ease creating works that represented them- one participant referred to the project as “creating a piece of myself”.’

The overarching goal of the 20 Neighborhoods Project has been to use the space and resources of Woman Made Gallery to build an artistic community among women and youth from different neighborhoods throughout Chicago, with a specific focus on self and community empowerment. By offering a safe space for participating artists to explore themselves and the community they live in, many involved in the project have developed new insights into how they would like to see themselves, their families, and their communities grow stronger and healthier.

As teaching artist Silvia Gonzalez shares of her work with women and girls at Albany Park’s Centro Autonomo: “[Week two’s theme of self-identity] also sparked conversation on the importance of self-care and self-awareness. Women worked through these ideas with energy and conviction, after reliving important memories and discussing hopes for themselves. It was clearly important to all of them that self-reflection was actually happening in a very safe space. That space allowed for connection making: many of the women, bonded as a result of the conversations, seeing that they had a lot in common, or discussing the impact of memories in constructing who they are now and what they want for themselves, their families, and their futures.”

As many of the workshops have come to an end and the project moves toward exhibition, the success of this endeavor is palpable and the interest in 20 Neighborhoods remains strong. Many partner organizations have expressed a desire to continue this sort of creative enterprise into the future. Participating artists have mentioned their excitement about sharing their newly learned techniques and skills with family and friends around them, as well as new ways of thinking about themselves, art, and community. Stay tuned for an update on last week’s first Artist Meetings at the gallery, which brought together women from all over the city to meet each other, discuss their ideas and visions for their neighborhoods and communities, and start the exhibition planning process.