Gender NOW exhibit opens Oct. 27

A national juried art exhibition that explores how artists define gender opens Wednesday, Oct. 27, at Morehead State’s Golding-Yang Art Gallery.  

Gender NOW is a touring exhibition featuring multimedia works created by artists from across the country who identify as LGBTQIA and allies of the LGBTQIA community. Melissa Yungbluth, director of the Golding-Yang Gallery, is also a member of the Gender Studies Leadership Team at MSU and said she wanted to contribute to the dialogue about gender on campus.  

“I wanted to be able to make a big contribution to how gender is viewed and talked about on MSU’s campus. The way for me to do that is through an exhibition of national artists,” Yungbluth said. “Americans as a whole are finally having big conversations about different topics related to gender. Artists have been making work about this topic for many, many years. It’s time to have this exhibit at MSU. The mission of the Golding-Yang Art Gallery is inclusivity, and gender expression is an important part of that. We want MSU members of all gender types to feel welcome in the gallery.”  

The juror of the exhibit was curator and multidisciplinary social change artist Ashley Cathey. Her large portraits centralize the experiences of black bodies during and after the African Diaspora. Cathey’s self-taught artistry merged ideas of feminism through the lens of women of color who have influenced her through their artistic endeavors. These influences allowed her to display her emotions on canvas and in public spaces. Her vibrant artistic style defies convention and seeks to comment on the misrepresentation or under-representation of her subject matter.  

An opening reception for the exhibit is Wednesday, Oct. 27, from 5 to 7 p.m. at the gallery. The exhibition is open through Nov. 17.   

“My hope is that viewers will leave the exhibition with new understandings, compassion and ways of talking about gender in 2021,” Yungbluth said. “Art is entirely about expression of self and many individuals who struggle with their own genders turn to art to figure things out and talk to others about the topic. We are so honored to have some of these brave artists exhibiting in the Golding-Yang Art Gallery. I hope that they inspire students that may be struggling.”  

The Golding-Yang Art Gallery, located within the Claypool-Young Art Building, is a pivotal educational and cultural component of the Department of Art and Design, the Caudill College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, the MSU campus and the community at large. Through national calls for entries for both group and thematic exhibitions, the gallery showcases the work of primarily American contemporary artists in exhibitions curated by the gallery director with the advisement of faculty or through an independent juror. The gallery also hosts faculty and student exhibitions, including annual sophomore and senior shows that allow art majors the rare opportunity to exhibit their work in a professional venue. The three-level gallery features approximately 2,500 square feet of exhibition space with a screening room to display new media. The gallery is open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Masks are required indoors.

For more information, visit www.moreheadstate.edu/golding-yang-gallery or email Yungbluth at myungbluth@moreheadstate.edu.  

To explore MSU’s Department of Art and Design programs, visit www.moreheadstate.edu/art, email arde@moreheadstate.edu or call 606-783-2766.