OCC Hosts Women's Art Exhibit

The art work of 32 women from Michigan and around the country will be on exhibit at Oakland Community College’s annual women’s juried art show.

“From Our Perspectives: A National Women's Art Exhibition,” is September 26 - October 25, at the Smith Theatre Gallery at the Orchard Ridge campus.

The public will have the opportunity to meet some of the artists at the show’s opening reception from 7-9 p.m., Thursday, September 26, at the Smith Theatre Gallery. The art exhibit is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., September 26-October 25, at the gallery.

Sponsored by OCC’s Womencenter, program coordinator Arlene Frank says about 700 women artists have shown their work at the exhibit for the approximately 25 years it has been in existence.

This year’s exhibit is juried by Lynne Avadenka, whose work is exhibited widely and is in the permanent collections at The New York Public Library, The Jewish Museum in New York, The Detroit Institute of Arts, The British Library in London, The Israel Museum in Jerusalem, The Library of Congress, The Meermano Museum in The Netherlands as well as collections in General Motors in Detroit, Doubleday Publishing in New York and Compuware in Detroit.

“I am honored by the opportunity to make selections from among accomplished artworks that came from all over the United States,” Avadenka says. “The quality of a line, a visual surprise, a sense of mystery, the suggestion of a narrative, an unexpected color combination, a sure hand, a lovely composition—carefully considered—guided my choices in this year’s exhibition.”

“From Our Perspectives” is open to women artists nationwide and accepts up to three original works in all media, excluding video and performance. Works of art are available for purchase and artists receive three juried cash awards. This year’s exhibit features 32 artists, 19 of them from Michigan, showing art in the form of photography, water color, acrylic and oil paintings, sculpture, porcelain, mixed media, and textiles. There are prizes for Best of Show, President's Award and Purchase Award.

The goal of the women’s show is to provide a forum for women’s voices, Frank says.

“’From Our Perspectives’ provides women artists a place to express their unique diversity and creativity as they continue to weave the tapestry of life,” Frank says. “Within their chosen medium, women artists share their unique viewpoint on the material, personal, global, political, and cultural landscapes that surround them.”

This year’s artists are: Barbara Neri, of Pinckney, Ilana Houten, of Ann Arbor, Megan Cavanaugh, of Niagara Falls, NY, Ann Smith, of Plymouth, Mary Frances, of Springfield, IL, Marion Melody, of Riverview, Laura Makar, of Southfield, Hanna Kozlowski-Stone, of Sterling, KS, Margaret Davis, of Ann Arbor, Holly Branstner, of Toledo, OH, Monika Meler, of Stockton, CA, Jillian Sokso, of Fillmore, NY, Geralyn Vankerschaever, of Detroit, Vassiliki Daskalakis, of DeBary, FL, Tawni Shuler, of Sheridan, WY, Amelia Spinney, of DeKalb, IL, Leslie Nichols, of Bowling Green, KY, Suzanne Hesh, of Tucson, AZ, Mong-jane Wu, of Somerville, MA, Morgan Ford Willingham, of Vincennes, IN, Bonnie Wylo, of Ann Arbor, Christina Munson, of Chelsea, Kathleen McNamee, of Grosse Pointe Farms, MI, Coco Bruner, of Royal Oak, Kristen Eakin, of Commerce, Silke Seybold, of Waterford, Valerie McNeece, of Farmington, Tricia Soderberg, of Farmington Hills, Claudia Hershman, of Huntington Woods, Janis Walker, of Bloomfield, Kari Cholnoky, of Bloomfield Hills, and Donita Simpson, of Royal Oak.

Slide shows of recent exhibits, including the 2012 exhibit, can be found here. Photos of the 2013 art for exhibit will be available for viewing after the show’s opening. For more information on “From Our Perspectives,” call 248.522.3642 or e-mail womenart@oaklandcc.edu.