By WVUA 23 Digital Reporter Josie Wahl
Stand-Up! Ten Mighty Women Who Made a Change exhibit will be shown at The Arts Council Gallery at the Dinah Washington Cultural Arts Center starting on April 5 and ending May 24.
This project is the individual work of Dr. Brittney Cooper who is a professor of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and Africana Studies at Rutgers University. She will be showing her new picture book; Stand-Up! Ten Mighty Women Who Made a Change, with illustrations by Cathy Ann Johnson.
“Brittney Cooper is one of the most important and celebrated public intellectuals of our time. It is an honor to showcase the exhibit celebrating her first children’s picture book, which highlights iconic women and girls who made history but are often excluded from it,” Dr. Robin Boylorn, founding director of UA’s Holle Center for Communication Arts said in a statement. “Cathy Ann Johnson, who illustrated the book, brings Brittney’s words to life by mapping her artistic process through the exhibit, inviting us into the methodology of illustration. ‘Stand Up!’ offers an opportunity for intergenerational engagement of art, history, and storytelling.”
The exhibit opening will happen on April 5 from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Dinah Washington Cultural Arts Center. Cooper and Johnson will be speaking about the book and exhibit at 6 p.m.
Following that event, on May 3 from 5 to 7 p.m. a discussion panel will be available to discuss the book and art exhibit with speakers:
- Moderator: Dr. Darlene F. Atkins, Principal of Westlawn Middle School
- Katherine Baxter, Librarian at Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary
- Ramona Caponegro, Professor in Youth Services, UA School of Library and Information Studies
- Exa Skinner, Executive Director of Kentuck Art Center and Festival
Gallery hours are weekdays 9 a.m.- noon and 1-4 p.m. For more information about all gallery events taking place on First Friday and the locations, visit www.firstfridaytuscaloosa.com.
