"Women of the World" Opening Reception This Thursday
Across the centuries in countries spanning the globe, women have been denigrated as the “weaker sex” and faced pervasive discrimination, but progress and history are being made as more women are elected to political office and sexual harassment is confronted.
Five international artists will explore the inspiring power of women and their struggles in Women of the World, a group exhibition at the Takoma Park Community Center with an opening reception on March 14 at 7 pm. The exhibition, which celebrates Women’s History Month, features work by Sobia Ahmad, Maysoon al Gburi, Olivia Tripp Morrow, Elayna Speight, and Evans Thorne.
Born and raised in Pakistan, Sobia Ahmad moved to the United States when she was 14 years old, becoming an immigrant straddling two vastly different cultures. Her video installations and mixed-media work grapple with the complexities of national identity, cultural memory, and notions of home.
Maysoon al Gburi lived through the brutality of war in Iraq before emigrating to the D.C. area. Her paintings are influenced by the richness of Mesopotamian history coupled with the dire outcomes of war suffered by women and children.
Olivia Tripp Morrow’s suspended installation titled Stretch reconfigures clothes donated by women into strips of intricately woven fabric layered over chicken wire. She reinterprets the personal histories associated with the clothing to reflect upon the contributions of women past and present.
Elayna Speight’s watercolors celebrate the strength, vulnerability, and magic of black women. Her series titled Her Crown and Glory portrays positive images of black women with their various skin tones and natural hair styles (their crowning glory).
After growing up in Trinidad and Tobago, Evans Thorne moved to the D.C. area to study art. His paintings explore his cultural roots in the Caribbean through nature, dancing, and family portraits of generations of women and girls.
For more information and high-res images, contact Arts Coordinator Brendan Smith at brendans@takomaparkmd.gov.
Artwork image: Tobago Jig by Evans Thorne
