Ohio University gives students the opportunity to take advantage of a diverse education, but the Appalachian Peace and Justice Network hopes to offer students a perspective of something they can all relate to ' the region in which they live.
The State of the World: An Appalachian Perspective exhibit, now on display in the Multicultural Center Art Gallery in Baker University Center, brings together the work of several regional artists. The exhibit focuses on themes such as peace, social justice and the environment, issues which Winsome Chunnu, the center's assistant director, believes are not only relevant to the world, but to the surrounding regions as well.
I think it's important for us to highlight these challenges that people in Southeast Ohio face
she said.
The exhibit, which began Jan. 7, utilizes such themes through a variety of artwork, from photographs to found-art objects. It features the work of 12 residents of Appalachian Ohio, who submitted their work to be featured in the exhibit. Some of the artwork is for sale, with portions of the proceeds benefiting the organization.
Not only is the artwork aesthetically pleasing, but it helps to convey messages not easily covered through dialogue, said Jennifer McClung, program and development coordinator the network.
With art G? it's an image and images can touch you however that works for you she said. I think
in ways
art allows us to go places and be vulnerable in way that words don't allow us to get to.
Frank Norton, a photographer and an OU alumnus, submitted photos he took in Brazil. Although his photos were taken in a foreign country, he believes the connection to Appalachia is relevant in the subjects.
I wanted to speak to the fact that Appalachia's part of a bigger world and we're all kind of in the same struggles to make a better world
he said.
Kari Gunter-Seymour is a military mother whose work in the show focuses on her struggles as a person dealing with the war on both a social and personal level. Her pieces feature poems that are excerpts from her diary, which serve to both inform and aid as a personal form of therapy, she said.
The exhibit has the ability to make an impact on its viewers, Gunter-Seymour said.
There's a lot to learn (in this exhibit)
she said. It's a small exhibit
but I think it's very powerful.
McClung also hopes that the show will inspire people to correct something they see as an injustice, she said.
Hopefully it gets them to thinking about things they might not have thought about before
she said. Hopefully it will spur them to activism.
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