Studio Montclair presents “Womyn’s Werq,” an exhibit in honor of Women’s History Month, on view from March 5 to April 9 at Studio Montclair Gallery, 127 Bloomfield Avenue, Montclair, NJ.
Please note that SMI follows strict guidelines for indoor gatherings—masks are always required and the number of people in the gallery is limited. Click here to go to our virtual exhibit that includes audio from the artists. Click here to go to our interactive 3D walk through.
“Womyn’s Werq”, described by curator Donna Kessinger as an “old school,” LGBTQIA-friendly, radical feminist art exhibition, features over 60 pieces of artwork including videos, sculpture, and two-dimensional creations in a great variety of mediums, there will also be special installations in the gallery windows. A virtual exhibit that will include audio from the artists will be on the Studio Montclair website.
Due to COVID, viewing is by appointment only until further notice.
Studio Montclair Gallery
127 Bloomfield Avenue
Montclair, NJ 07042
Womyn: This is a term used by those who feel that having the word “man” within the word “woman” signifies that women are a subset of men. So, to make themselves a non-subset, they changed the letter “e” to a “y.” I am not a subset, I am a womyn.
Werq: An expression used when praising someone for looking fierce
This exhibit is comprised of artworks that serve as visual narratives based on the mantra that the personal is political. They reflect—and seek to answer such questions as: What embodies radicalism on an artistic level? Is it the artist’s engagement with protest, activism, and/or cultural organizing? Is it the materials used or the conceptual content of the work? With a strong focus on inclusion, this exhibit represents all artists who may identify as gender-fluid, eco-femme, queer/trans, and old-school butch/femme artists. According to the curator, “I am very excited about the level and intensity of the work which was submitted to ‘Womyn’s Werq’ at Studio Montclair. There is a palpable edge to the feminist dialogue which is emerging between the art, artists, and exhibition space. As we continue to face cultural change and a brighter reality, even in the face of adversity, I hope that bringing this incredible group of artists together will create a chance for us to collectively recharge our spirits and celebrate together (covid safe) as a community of artmakers!”
Participating Artists:
Aodan, Ara-Lucia, Mia Ahntholz, Olga Alexander, Sandra Anton, Barbara Bickart, Jeanne Brasile, Rodriguez Calero, Marina Carreira, Gwen Charles, Liz Collins, Leslie Connito, Lisa D’Amico, Lisa DeLoria Weinblatt, Yvonne Duck, Kara Dunne, Megan Dyer, Kathleen Elyse, Lisa Ficarelli-Halpern, Modern Fossils:Judith Marchand and David P Horowitz, Yolanda Fundora, Colleen Sweeney Gahrmann, Trish Gianakis, Parastoo Haddadi, Karen Heagle, Susan Hensel, Katie Hovencamp, Jennifer Hughes, Valerie Huhn, Raluca Iancu, Kristen Iannuzzelli, Elizabeth Insogna, Miriam Jacobs, Dorian Katz, Michelle Knox, Erin Kuhn, Phoebe Legere, Jennifer Malone, Paula Marino, Anne Q McKeown, Nick Metz, Leslie Nobler, Jacquie O’Brien, Christy O’Connor, Kate Okeson, Stacey AS Pritchard, Brass Rabbit, Marisol Ross, Yolanda Santa Cruz, Christine Sauerteig-Pilaar, Alix Anne Shaw, Gail G. Slockett, Victoria Smits, Peter Tilgner, Kay Turner, Rhonda Urdang, Sarah Van Vliet, Margaret Rose Vendryes, Sue Eldridge Ward, Jennifer Willoughby, and Becky Yazdan.
Artists featured in our windows: Liz Collins, Megan Dyer, Modern Fossils:Judith Marchand and David P Horowitz, Karen Heagle, Katie Hovencamp, Elizabeth Insogna, Anne Q McKeown, Gail G. Slockett, and Kay Turner,
CURATOR: Donna Kessinger is manager of the ChaShaMa Matawan Studio and Gallery, where she works as an arts educator and curator. She is currently focused on connecting with the artist community that thrives along the New York/New Jersey corridor. Kessinger received her Masters in Arts Administration from the University of Kentucky and has produced several independent curatorial projects in New York and New Jersey since 1999. She has also created and overseen emerging artist residency projects and related exhibitions at the Bronx Museum of the Arts and Aljira: A Space for Contemporary Art, in Newark, NJ. She considers herself a shy painter who loves working with wax medium and has recorded many hours of short, oral herstories using the ancient method of videotape from the ’90s. Her subjects include Nancy Spero, Carolee Schneeman, and Kate Millett. Kessinger believes that having space to create is crucial to making art and that’s what it’s all about!
