Women’s art exhibit at Oakton focuses on politics
It’s an election year — and women’s issues have been high on the political agenda. Gain a new perspective on some of the most controversial topics of our time at “The Personal is Political: The Transformative Power of Women’s Art,” a new exhibition that opens Thursday, Oct. 4, at the Koehnline Museum of Art on the Oakton Community College Des Plaines campus, 1600 E. Golf Road.
Featuring more than 80 women artists from throughout Illinois and across the country, the juried exhibition is the product of an annual collaboration between the Women’s and Gender Studies Program and the Koehnline Museum.
Ever since American feminist writer and activist Kate Millet coined the phrase “the personal is political” in her landmark 1970 work “Sexual Politics,” the words have continued to resonate in contemporary feminism. Oakton’s exhibit will feature paintings, sculpture, and mixed media pieces that engage with and respond to the multiple meanings in Millet’s words.
“The annual women’s juried art exhibition at the museum always proves to be one of our most popular shows,” said Koehnline Museum Curator Nathan Harpaz. “Last year’s exhibition attracted 3,000 viewers and we anticipate even more this year because the event coincides with national elections.”
A free gala reception with refreshments offers a chance to meet with and talk to the artists from 5–8 p.m. on opening night. The exhibit runs through Friday, Oct. 26.
The museum is open Monday through Friday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m., and Saturday, 11 a.m.–4 p.m. For information, visit www.oakton.edu/wgs or contact WGS Program Coordinator Kathleen Carot, (847) 376-7061 or The exhibition is made possible in part by grants from the Oakton Educational Foundation and the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency. ">kcarot@oakton.edu