A gallery exhibit at McPherson College titled, “Who Does She Think She Is?” brings together women artists, poets, and writers from across Kansas to celebrate women and commemorate the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment, guaranteeing and protecting women’s constitutional right to vote.
The exhibition features works from both young and old, traditional and contemporary. The works cover a wide range of media including, drawing, painting, graphic design, sculpture, assemblage, textiles, jewelry, photography, ceramics, and more. Poems and writings by women writers from the college also accompany the artwork.
“I was inspired by this year’s celebration of 100 years of women’s suffrage and by the under-representation of women in the arts,” Gallery Director Michaela Valli Groeblacher said. “The genesis of this show is rather organic and spontaneous. I invited women from all over Kansas to exhibit their art, poetry, and prose, focusing on works that many might not have seen before.”
Women artists have been marginalized for centuries, according to Groeblacher. The exhibition cites information from the National Museum of Women in the Arts that says until the 1970s it was nearly impossible to find information about women artists referenced in art history books. Women artists still face obstacles and disparities today and are persistently underrepresented in museum collections and exhibitions.
The exhibition is open now through April 18 in Friendship Hall on the college campus. It is open to the public during regular business hours, Monday through Friday. An artists’ reception will be held on April 18 from 5-7 p.m.
Artists in the exhibition include:
Becky Hyberger – Bennington
Debbie Wagner – Bennington
Roberta Eichenberg – Emporia
Linda Ganstrom – Hays
Julie Unruh – Lin
Lee Becker – Lindsborg
Maleta Forsberg – Lindsborg
Tara Killingsworth – Lindsborg
Phyllis Liljegren-Newson – Lindsborg
Michaela Valli Groeblacher – Lindsborg
Briana Zimmerling – Lindsborg
Geraldine Craig – Manhattan
Dee Erway-Sherwood – McPherson
Jen Pollard – McPherson
Angela Muller – Russell
Ruth Amortize – Salina
Connie Burket – Salina
Karla Prickett – Salina
Sandy Wedel – Salina
Carol Long – St. John
Barbara Waterman-Peters – Topeka
Kelsey Gosset Dennis – Wichita
Marilyn Grisham – Wichita