For Appalachian artists, the opportunity to show their work at galleries is not an opportunity that avails itself very often. But for the last three years, the Women of Appalachia exhibit has been providing a platform for women to learn the ropes of showing their art.
The exhibit’s founder and curator Kari Gunter-Seymore said the idea struck her one night at dinner with some of her friends.
“I was personally doing work that was edgy and different,” Gunter-Seymore said, “and I was wondering if any women were doing it, too.”
Gunter-Seymore sent a proposal to Winsome Chunnu, assistant director of the Multicultural Center, and the idea took off.
“It’s been extremely successful,” Chunnu said.
Attendance each year has surpassed 200 people, and the feedback for the exhibit has always been positive, she said.
A panel of professional artists and community members choose the exhibitors, Gunter-Seymore said.
She added that the process of getting into this exhibit is standard, but that it’s a learning experience for many women who apply.
“While some of the women are professional artists, for some, it’s their first show,” Gunter-Seymore said.
The exhibit has grown from five artists during its first year to featuring 20 artists from Southeast Ohio.
Biographies on the artists are available on the website www.womenofappalachiaevents.com.
Also on display will be “The Clothesline Project” from Sisters in Recovery Collective, which brings stories of domestic violence to light by displaying T-shirts victims of abuse have made.
An event called “Women Speak” will accompany the art exhibit. With the focus of “Women Speak” on poetry and performance art, Gunter-Seymore said her vision of giving women a voice is complete.
“My vision was that all different kinds of artists would get to show their work,” Gunter-Seymore said.
Gunter-Seymore said that the exhibit took more than nine months to put together but that the effort is well worth the reward.
“It’s a lot like giving birth,” she said.
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