International Women’s Week highlights female artist in Squires Library Art Gallery

International Women’s Week concluded with an art exhibit and reception for Heather Hartman Folks on Thursday, March 3 from 5:30-6:30 p.m. in the Squires Library Art Gallery. For the first time, the International Women’s Week subcommittee is featuring an art exhibit highlighting a woman artist during the week-long celebration.

The exhibit will be available to view in the Williams G. Squires Library until March 24, featuring pieces by Hartman. Hartman is an assistant professor of art, drawing, painting and art history at Carson-Newman University. According to Hartman’s website, her work represents sensory experiences within her surroundings. 

“I am interested in the constant flux of the visual world, and our temporary space within it,” said Hartman’s website. “Through common distortions of light, shadow, and atmosphere the familiar can become abstracted and unfamiliar.”

Mary Mathias-Dickerson, associate professor of art and International Women’s Week subcommittee member, shared her connection and admiration to Hartman’s art. 

“There's something about the layers and the way the light and shadow fall together that I just think is really beautiful, and just resonates with me because I look at that stuff in life,” said Mathias-Dickerson.

Trinity MacPhee, a sophomore graphic design major, said engaging with the gallery allows students to “cheer on other women as they pursue something they love.”   

“I love going through the exhibit because I get to have a deeper understanding of art and how an artist chooses to express their creativity,” said MacPhee.

Julie Burchfield, distance learning librarian and assistant professor, is serving as chairman of the International Women’s Week subcommittee. Burchfield said the motivation behind the exhibit is to “get as many people involved as we can.” 

Mathias-Dickerson believes the gallery is contributing to the week-long celebration, and the significance of the gallery “shows that artists are contributing to that experience of celebrating women in the arts.” 

“Not really to the exclusion of other people, but it's celebrating the accomplishments and the vision of the people in the spotlight,” said Mathias-Dickerson. “So in this case, women and their accomplishments, knowing that they have been overlooked in previous times.” 

Burchfield said she views the gallery as an opportunity to celebrate people’s identity, along with their art.

“This [gallery] really is an opportunity to celebrate the image of God in all of God's creation, especially women,” said Burchfield. “That's really our purpose, to celebrate women as God's creation and to encourage all of us to be better and do better representing him.” 

The field of art also celebrates legacies of inspiration, communicating the existence of people and nature. Mathias-Dickerson believes “art can speak.” 

“I mean, we see artwork all the time, but we don't pause and take it in and really visually attend to it,” said Mathias-Dickerson. “So, I feel like there's something in that, giving attention. Especially as a Christian, as I'm giving something visual attention, then I'm activating my imagination that I see as God's. Imagination can be a receptive organ that God can talk to me through, this act of paying attention to something.” 

Burchfield feels the gallery resonates with women who want to experience a “peaceful, uplifting kind of feel” during the celebration of the week.

“I think that it will give hope,” said Burchfield. “I think that it will give our students, or female students encouragement, you know, to what they can accomplish. Know that they are capable and able to do wonderful things because they are created in God’s image. So, hopefully it will be an inspiration to others that might be thinking of doing artwork.” 

The exhibit will be available to view in the Williams G. Squires Library until March 24.