March is Women’s History Month and to celebrate, the Herberger Theater Center hosted
the first “In Celebration of Women” art exhibit Friday evening.
The Arizona Women’s Partnership, the organization that decided to hold the exhibit
downtown, wanted to celebrate Women’s History Month through art.
Paula G. Cullison, the president of the organization, held a jury that selected 30 art pieces from artists in Arizona. Cullison said that she has been involved with supporting women’s rights for 50 years and that Women’s History Month, along with International Women’s Day, is important to celebrate.
“(The exhibit) was to showcase the joy of womanhood,” Cullison said.
Cullison said that although the art will be up for only two months, she was able to
contact the Capitol Museum and arrange for the art to be displayed there. She said people who wouldn’t be able to see the art at Herberger Theater could see it there in May.
Laurene Austin, who is the director of development and marketing at Herberger
Theater, said Cullison approached her with the idea for the exhibit a year and a half
ago.
“(Cullison) told me 2020 is the 100 year anniversary of womens’ right to vote,” Austin
said. “She asked, ‘Why don’t we do an art exhibit featuring all female artists from
Arizona?’ which we’ve never done before.”
Austin said this is the first exhibit the theater has held where all the artists are women.
She said that she hopes that this exhibit will be successful so that the theater can do it
again in the future.
Becky Spradling, an artist whose painting was chosen, said that she wanted to show
that women can be professionals.
“Women are not represented in the art world,” Spradling said. “They need to be given
closer attention.”
Her painting was a recreation of a black and white photograph of her mother and two
female roommates during World War II. She said that in the photo, they were on their
way to work because there weren’t enough men to cover jobs. In the painting, Spradling
added shades and flowers, contrasting the shades.
“It struck me as something fun to do,” Spradling said. “I just like to have fun with it.”
Mitra Kamali, another artist who had her art chosen, talked about Forugh Farrokhzad,
an Iranian female poet and film director who inspired her painting.
Kamali said that Farrokhzad wrote about her personal hardships living in Iran. She said
that Farrokhzad was “an out-of-the-box thinker” and lived her life the way she wanted to.
“It has always been difficult for women, but she survived doing what she wanted to do,”
Kamali said.
When asked why she chose to paint Farrokhzad, Kamali said Farrokhzad represented
strength to her. Kamali said the gold and mirror halo around Farrokhzad’s head was to
represent hardships women have gone through and reflect on those hardships.
“The mirrors show you not to be fearful, “ Kamali said. “Just do what you need to do in
life.”
Kamali said she was honored to be selected to show her art because it gives female
artists a voice. She said that art helps represent women’s rights and that without it there
is nothing.
“Art is the most important language. It doesn’t kill. It is strong but peaceful.”
Contact the reporter at wlopezde@asu.edu.
