Themes of community, self-discovery, identity permeate the work of three artists
and the accompanying Gender and Identity Film Series
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.
Latest news in Conway and for Conway Scene.