Themes of community,
self-discovery, identity permeate the work of three artists and the accompanying Gender and Identity Film Series
Images of pieces currently on display at the Windgate Museum of Art at Hendrix College. Left: Melissa Wilkinson, Chimera 01, 2023; Right: Jess T. Dugan, Shira and Sarah, 2020.
CONWAY, Ark. (September 14, 2023) — Three
artist talks and a five-installment film series provide multiple opportunities
for interaction with this fall’s exhibitions at the Windgate Museum of Art at
Hendrix College (WMA).
Three artists featured in the WMA
galleries this semester share an emphasis on gender identity and its influence.
Each will give an artist talk in the Hundley-Shell Theater, across the
breezeway from the WMA’s main entrance, with dates and times listed below. Both
the museum and theater are part of the Miller Creative Quad, Building 3 on the
current campus
map.
All exhibitions continue through
December 12. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday from noon to 5 p.m.; the
museum, its exhibitions, and its programs are free and open to all.
As a companion to these exhibitions, a
Gender and Identity Film Series will occur on select Thursday evenings during
the fall semester. Selected films include Whale Rider (2002), In the Name of
Your Daughter (2016), Barbie (2023), Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019), and The
Dreamlife of Georgie Stone (2022). Details can be found at windgatemuseum.org/events.
“These exhibitions are a teaching
moment speaking to family, community, self-discovery, and ultimately identity,”
said Christian Cutler, the museum’s director. “Everyone should at some point be
able to see themselves, their cultures, their identities, and their passions
reflected in our collections and exhibitions. Educating everyone is at the core
of what we aim to do at the WMA. Our promise of being ‘free and open to all’
includes engaging a diverse community through the discovery and enjoyment of
the visual arts.”
About the Artists, Exhibitions, and
Schedule of Talks
Every Breath We Drew: Jess T. Dugan
Exhibition: September 8 – December 12, 2023, Biggs
Gallery
Artist talk: Wednesday, October 25, 4:30 p.m., Hundley-Shell
Theater
Jess T. Dugan is an artist whose work
explores issues of identity, gender, sexuality, and community through
photographic portraiture. Dugan’s work is regularly exhibited internationally
and is in the permanent collections of over 50 museums. This exhibition
features 10 of Dugan’s photographs recently acquired by the WMA for the Hendrix
Permanent Collection.
Sauvage Visage: Melissa Wilkinson
Exhibition: September 8 – December 12, 2023, Neely
Gallery
Artist talk: Tuesday, November 14, 4:30 p.m., Hundley-Shell
Theater
Melissa Wilkinson is a watercolorist
whose focus is the figure, gender and identity, and appropriation. Influenced
heavily by glitch art and data moshing, her new paintings utilize existing
images sourced from disco, private Tumblr accounts, and late ’70s/early ’80s
“tomboys” that have informed her identity and personal sense of self. Her work
has been featured in wide reaching publications throughout the country, has
shown in various galleries nationally and internationally. Wilkinson is an
Assistant Teaching Professor of Art-Foundations at UMass, Dartmouth.
From Where Loss Comes: Pradip Malde
Exhibition: September 8 – November 11, 2023, Wilcox-Todd
Gallery
Artist talk: Wednesday, October 4, 4:30 p.m., Hundley-Shell
Theater
Panel discussion: Featuring NYC UNICEF representatives
Yasmine Sinkhada and Nankali Maksud, Thursday, September 28, 4:30 p.m., Hundley-Shell
Theater
Pradip Malde is a photographer,
documentarian, and artist. From Where Loss Comes is an unblinking look
at how sacrifice and belonging are deeply rooted in the human experience. It is
a story of the root causes of female genital cutting and mutilation, and
Malde’s attempt to answer the question, “Why do we inflict violence on those who
are close to us in order for them to stay close to us?” Malde is a professor in
the Department of Art, Art History and Visual Studies and in the Environmental
Arts and Humanities Program at the University of the South, Sewanee, Tennessee.
About the Windgate Museum of Art
The Windgate
Museum of Art is the art
museum located on the campus of Hendrix College. With a vision to be the
premier teaching art museum in Arkansas, the Windgate presents outstanding art
exhibitions, compelling educational programs, and invigorating social
activities for students, faculty, staff, and visitors to campus. Free and open
to all, the museum uses hands-on experiences to train students in all facets of
museum work, including curatorial research, collection management, educational
and social programming, marketing and communications, as well as all aspects of
exhibition research, planning, installation, and evaluation. The Windgate
Museum of Art is made possible with major support from the Windgate Foundation
and the Alice L. Walton Foundation.
About Hendrix College
Founded in 1876, Hendrix College is featured in Colleges That
Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About Colleges and
celebrated among the country’s leading liberal arts colleges for academic
quality, engaged learning opportunities and career preparation, vibrant campus
life, and value. The Hendrix College Warriors compete in 21 NCAA Division III
sports. Hendrix has been affiliated with the United Methodist Church since
1884. Learn more at www.hendrix.edu.
“… Through engagement that links the classroom with the world, and
a commitment to diversity, inclusion, justice, and sustainable living, the
Hendrix community inspires students to lead lives of accomplishment, integrity,
service, and joy.” —Hendrix
College Statement of Purpose