“Connection and compassion can help us find joy and bring us through even dramatic changes in our lives”-
-Artist Nicki Rathert on her piece Coming Together
Set a few blocks off of Murphysboro Mainstreet and with the sweetest brick road and white picket fence, The General John A Logan Museum is the perfect venue for the Women’s Voices 3:Make/Believe exhibit. Featuring locally juried female artists, the Murphysboro exhibit hosts eighteen of the fifty three overall works, with the other 35 artists hosted at the Southern Illinois University Museum, Carbondale.
During our visit we were pleased with the lighting and placement of the works, providing for a seamless flow through the venue and allowing for an easy 360 degree cruise through. The color and vibrancy dance throughout the room and the artists’ utilization of textiles, print, glass, and more provides for an interesting and thought provoking experience for everyone to enjoy. Each of our three kids (ages 13, 9 and 7), were drawn to the textures, each mentioning wanting to reach out and touch the pieces. We found this to be a great opportunity to talk to them about museum/art space etiquette and appreciation.
Teresa Fix, the creator and curator of the event, describes the main goal of the exhibit being “to open the eyes of the viewer and help others to realize how our creative thoughts give us a process to explore and articulate images in which express what we experience in our hearts and minds daily.”
All of the eighteen pieces are housed within one stunningly illuminated room, the initial room you walk into as you enter the building. Each piece is accompanied by artist provided text, which gave insight into their work, perspective, process, etc. Reading each piece and taking time to take in the detail, thoughtfulness, and craft put into each makes for a delightful day outing solo or with loved ones. We spent a leisurely 30 minutes enjoying the exhibit (an additional walk through the adjacent museum, blog post on this experience to follow, would extend your visit considerably), and look forward to returning to enjoy their outdoor gardens in the spring.
The Women’s Voices 3:Make/Believe series runs February 7- May 13 with the John A Logan Museum location being open Tues-Fri 10-4pm and Sat 1-4pm.
