The Ohio University Multicultural Center is pleased to announce the first event of two in celebration of its 10-year partnership with the Women of Appalachia Project (WOAP). The annual fine art exhibition, featuring 35 female artists living in or with strong ties to Appalachia, is free and open to the public through March 23, 2019. The exhibition was juried by Randi Ward, a poet and artist from Wood County, WV, and Roger May, a writer and photographer currently based in Charleston, WV.
According to founder Kari Gunter-Seymour, WOAP is unique in that it is an arts organization specifically focused on addressing discrimination directed at Appalachians. Modeled as a cooperative, the organization has become an ever-expanding mix of socio-political perspectives. Emerging to established writers and fine artists wield their words and images to challenge the preconceived prejudices that are often used as the gauge by which Appalachian women are judged.
“Providing opportunities for females from the Appalachian region to exhibit their art—raw and unfiltered—allows us to openly celebrate our heritage and culture, throw open the doors, share our experiences and ideals, challenge the stereotype,” says Gunter-Seymour. “We not only begin to build much needed self-esteem and empowerment within our female population, but also invite viewers and our communities to celebrate as well.”
In addition to Ohio University’s Multicultural Center Art Gallery, the work of WOAP’s 70 spoken word and fine artists has been or will be exhibited and performed at five other venues throughout West Virginia, Kentucky and Ohio: Northern Kentucky University, Fort Thomas, KY; West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV; Berea College, Berea, KY; Ohio University Southern, Ironton, OH; Monongalia Art Center, Morgantown, WV; and a final performance at The Historic Bowen House, Logan, OH.
The annual Women of Appalachia Project GALA is scheduled for March 23, 2019 in the Multicultural Center Art Gallery and Baker Theater. The event will feature spoken word and fine art as well as special guests Ohio University President Duane Nellis, old-time string band, The Trophy Wives and gala decor created by Passion Works Studio. A special 10th anniversary anthology of spoken word and fine art is near completion and will celebrate its launch at the GALA event. The Spoken Word jurors for this year’s Women of Appalachia Project were poet and editor Marianne Worthington and English professor and writer Hayley Mitchell Haugen.
The rest of this article can be read in The Parkersburg News and Sentinel.