KENNESAW, Ga. | Mar 16, 2021

Women’s Leadership in the Arts Lecture Series highlights female arts leaders

The Bernard A. Zuckerman Museum of Art (ZMA), a part of the School of Art and Design in the College of the Arts at Kennesaw State University, will virtually present “HERstory Month” on March 24 and 26.

The online Women’s Leadership in the Arts Lecture Series celebrates women’s contributions to history, culture and society and will feature Jennifer Inacio, associate curator at the Jorge M. Pérez Art Museum of Miami-Dade County, and Judith K. Brodsky, artist, author, and printmaker. 

Brodsky, the founding director of the Rutgers Center for Innovative Print and Paper, will discuss her recent book and the Center on March 24, from noon to 1 p.m. Recently renamed to the Brodsky Center at Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and relocated to Philadelphia, the Center is noted for prominently featuring female artists, artists of color, and historically underrepresented artists. Brodsky will be discussing the work of the Center as well as her recent book Junctures: Case Studies in Women’s Leadership.

In the book, she and Ferris Olin profile female leaders in music, theater, dance, and visual art. The diverse women included in the book have made their marks by serving as executives or founders of art organizations, by working as activists to support the arts, or by challenging stereotypes about women in the arts. The contributors explore several important themes, such as the role of feminist leadership in changing cultural values regarding inclusivity and gender parity, as well as the feminization of the arts and the power of the arts as cultural institutions.

Next, on March 26 from noon to 1 p.m., Pérez Art Museum Miami’s associate curator Jennifer Inacio will present a virtual lecture on her recent group exhibition titled MY BODY, MY RULES. This exhibition examines the mainstream portrayal of women, confronting the stereotypes, violence, limitations, and ideals imposed on the disputed image of the female body. Featuring a roster of approximately twenty diverse women artists working across mediums—including painting, sculpture, photography, and video—the works in the show are unified by a strong commitment to contemporary discussions on gender, race, body politics, resilience, and self-representation amid today’s social landscape. 

MY BODY, MY RULES is conceived as a chant of empowerment, with the aim of stimulating awareness and asserting women’s authority and power over their own experiences. By condemning inequalities, revisiting traditional roles, deconstructing labels, and reclaiming power, the works in this exhibition offer a platform from which to reflect on contemporary female image narratives through a feminist lens. Together with a number of accompanying programs, the exhibition showcases the artists’ diverse cultural influences, prompting a collective, in-depth dialogue on how women have the right to own their lives and their bodies.   

The Women’s Leadership in the Arts Lecture Series is free and open to the public; a simple reservation is all that is required to watch online.

--Christine Collins and Kathie Beckett