‘Powerful’ International Women’s Day exhibition coming to King Museum

Yorkregion.com
Feb. 7, 2022

It’s time to get your paint brushes ready.

The King Heritage and Cultural Centre is asking women artists to submit work for its inaugural International Women’s Day art show.

The exhibition runs Mar. 5 to April 16 in Laskay Hall in tandem with International Women’s Day on Mar. 8.

Artists are being asked to create work with the idea of community as it relates to the concepts of gender equality, diversity and inclusivity.

Emerging curator and art writer Kimberley Rush-Duyguluer, who serves as a board member at the King museum, said:

“Feminism and gender and feminist art is one of my areas of specialization as a curator. I wanted to create an exhibition in alignment with UN Women’s International Women’s Day.”

The theme of the exhibition is “community.”

“We wanted something life-affirming because the pandemic has affected everyone’s lives and it’s a difficult time for everyone,” Rush-Duyguluer said. “We were looking for a way to try to create and promote the idea of community.”

The exhibition is also supposed to promote the King museum as a place of community, diversity and inclusivity.

“We really wanted to situate the (King museum) as a place where connections are made, where gender equality, diversity and inclusivity are respected and observed,” Rush-Duyguluer said.

Rush-Duyguluer said she hopes women feel empowered and find their own artistic expression through the creation of art and through the exhibit.

“Each artist will interpret the theme according to their own experiences,” Rush-Duyguluer said.

The exhibition is open to all forms of art, including painting, drawing, sculpture and mixed media.

“I would love a performance artist,” Rush-Duyguluer said. “You don’t have to be a professional artist. In fact, you don’t have to be even have to call yourself an artist.”

Artist Kathleen Rodgers has participated in the Orillia Museum of Art and History’s International Women’s Day exhibition since 2017. She is a King museum exhibition committee member and came to them with the idea to create one for the museum.

“It’s a very powerful exhibit,” Rodgers said.

Rodgers, an art quilter, has submitted a piece for the exhibit. She has mounted a textile piece on canvas to be displayed, called Autumn’s Reflections.

“This particular technique was grid square technique,” she said. “It’s a photograph my son took probably about 12 years ago … The photograph is actually a reflection shooting down into the water.”

The decoy duck is the only thing in the image that isn’t a reflection, she added.

The call for artists is open to women artists and artists who identify as women and who are 14 or older. The call is open to all skill levels and to all mediums.

Artists are asked to provide a statement that brings their work into context of the exhibition. The deadline for submitting applications is Feb. 11. Artwork has to be delivered to the King museum by Feb. 21.

For more information, visit kingheritageandculture.ca or call 905-833-2331.