Woman Made Gallery (WMG) is proud to present ‘Dreaming Bigger in Strange Times,’ opening on Saturday, November 11th through December 16, 2017. The final exhibition during WMG’s 25th Anniversary year, it is the second exhibition at WMG’s new location in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood. Chicago-based artist Joyce Owens is the curator for the exhibition including works by 17 women artists from diverse backgrounds and working in a variety of styles and media.

Featuring women artists currently residing in the Midwest, this invitational exhibition intentionally strives to reflect the independent thoughts, hopes, dreams and fears around the strangely volatile world we find ourselves inhabiting since the last election. The women, working in a wide range of art mediums, represent diverse ethnic and ancestral backgrounds. Many express their political, social, religious and ethnic beliefs through their work. After all, America has welcomed immigrants promising them freedoms they were denied at home from the first meal at Plymouth Rock. Others were not welcomed under equal circumstances, to put it mildly, and others who were here first got the worst surprise as payment for their original kindness. The focal point that speaks to each artist shows up in their work in subtle and/or overt ways that you will see if you look. Their artist statements will provide more insight. Neighborhoods in Chicago (and other cities around the world) are generally homogeneous, despite desegregation. This powerful group of artists will demonstrate that diversity makes us stronger! -Joyce Owens

Exhibiting artists: Joanne Aono; Rose Blouin; Arlene Turner Crawford; Anne Farley Gaines; Abi Gonzales; Patricia Larkin Green; Indira Freitas Johnson; Felicia Grant Preston; Kim Laurel; Nora Moore Lloyd; Joyce Owens; Jane Stevens; Lynn Tsan; Kathy Weaver; Shahar Caren Weaver; Rhonda Wheatley; and Trish Williams.

Curator: Joyce Owens

Ragdale Fellow Joyce Owens is a painter and sculptor with an MFA degree in painting from Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut and a BFA from Howard University in Washington, D.C. She was curator and associate professor of painting and drawing at Chicago State University. She has been the curator for numerous exhibitions including: The David and Reva Logan Center at the University of Chicago; The Fourth Presbyterian Church, Chicago; Elmhurst College, Elmhurst, IL; The Art Center in Highland Park, The Noyes Cultural Center, Evanston, IL; The Southside Community Art Center and others. As an arts panelist she has developed discussion topics for Columbia College Chicago, The Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, The School of the Art Institute, The Carver Museum in Austin, Texas, Nicole Gallery in Chicago; Bradle University in Peoria, IL, and the South Side Community Art Center, and she has been the juror for Black Creativity at the Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago; The Old Town, Wells Street, and the DuSable Museum art fairs. Owens is associate editor for The Journal of African American History and has had her art and writing published in books and journals. For more information visit: http://www.joyceowens.com

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The opening reception for ‘Dreaming Bigger in Strange Times’ is on Saturday, November 11, 2017 from 2 to 4 p.m. Works are on display through December 16, 2017. A special silent art auction for “Dreaming Bigger in Strange Times” during the opening reception, only, is an opportunity for art enthusiasts to acquire small works by accomplished visual artists and encourage new collectors to start collecting; bidding for each piece starts at $150.00. All WMG events are free and open to the public.

Woman Made Gallery
womanmade.org
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2150 S. Canalport 4th FL, Chicago, IL 60608
Parking Lot at North Entrance on 21st Street
312-738-0400
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(Banner Image: artwork by Nora Moore Lloyd)

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Tags: Abi Gonzales, Anne Farley Gaines, Arlene Turner-Crawford, Chicago, Dreaming Bigger in Strange Times, Felicia Grant Preston, Indira Freitas Johnson, Jane Stevens, Joanne Aono, Joyce Owens, Kathy Weaver, Kim Laurel, Lower West Side, Lynn Tsan, Nora Moore Lloyd, Patricia Larkin Green, Rhonda Wheatley, Rose Blouin, Shahar Caren Weaver, Trish William, Woman Made Gallery