PREVIEW: Women Artist Community: Una Sola Voz Art Exhibit with Gallery 5 Schenectady
04/17 and 05/15 @ Electric City Apartments atrium
“I didn’t realize that would be the impact of being involved in a group like this and how empowering that would be.”
The Women Artist Community (WAC) of the Capital Region are unveiling their new exhibit, Our Voices as One: Una Sola Voz, on Friday, as part of Schenectady Art Night. Cofounder MaryK Weeks and I spoke about the upcoming event.
WAC was created last February as a way for women to support and encourage each other’s self expression. Women are underrepresented in most major museum collections, though a love for art is divided equally among genders. For women of color, the numbers are even more dismal.
Weeks, a retired language teacher, floated the idea of calling this current collection Una Sola Voz as a way to open the conversation and embrace all cultures.
WAC is made up of women of all ages and, perhaps most importantly, some artists who have only started showing their work by being a part of the group. “I didn’t realize that would be the impact of being involved in a group like this and how empowering that would be,” reflects Weeks. Cold calling galleries, installing your pieces, and showing your work isn’t necessarily taught in all art programs and is even more daunting if you didn’t go to school for art. One of the many positives to come from this group is that the Capital Region has the chance to see work that might otherwise be collecting dust, never to be formally shown.
Una Sola Voz will feature the work of 16 women, adding up to around 90 pieces in many different art forms. Starting this week, you can see their work in acrylic, oil, watercolor, prints, sculpture, mixed media, and encaustic.
The collective has held several exhibitions throughout the Capital Region since their inception. This upcoming event will be through Schenectady’s Gallery 5 in the atrium at Electric City Apartments. Luckily, Una Sola Voz will have an opening and closing ceremony, so you have two chances to see the incredible work from these women (though the residents of Electric City Apartments are luckier — it’s staying in the building all month).
Our Voices as One: Una Sola Voz will be opening on April 17 from 5-8:30 and another viewing will be held as the exhibit closes, May 15 from 5-8:30 at the Electric City Apartments atrium. You can follow WAC on Facebook at Women Artist Community - WAC of the Capital Region.
