LOGAN — Utah State University’s Caine College of the Arts will host a student-curated exhibition led by Associate Professor of Art History Marissa Vigneault, entitled “Guerrilla Grrrl Now!” from Nov. 6 to Dec. 15.
This exhibition, highlighting posters and imagery that the Guerrilla Girls have made, is particularly unique because USU is the first and only institution in the world to have the entire Guerrilla Girls art collection.
“That’s more than Tate Modern. That’s more than the MoMA. That’s more than the Guggenheim. They all have several works, but USU is going to have the complete collection,” USU Student Lily Petersen said.
The Guerrilla Girls is an anonymous group of feminist, female artists devoted to using their platform to speak about sexism, racism and other inequalities since 1985.
According to USU Student Eliza Bell, the Guerrilla Girls “take the names of famous past female artists and use their platform to speak about gender inequality in the gallery spaces in the art world.”
Petersen said the “Guerrilla Grrrl Now!” exhibition will show written work and visual art created by USU students in response to the issues presented by the art in the Guerrilla Girls collection.
The reason for the three R’s in the exhibition title of the word “girl” is in reference to another feminist movement, Riot Grrrl, which is also spelled with three r’s.
“We’re reclaiming this voice, activism and presence that is about all the inequalities and all of the continued kinds of discrimination that we feel around our bodies and our identities,” Bell said.
Peterson said the majority of issues they’ve created their art in response to are related to rights of the human body.
“I really want people to see the important statistics that the Guerrilla Girls have been bringing forward since 1985 in their posters, and how relevant it still is now,” USU Student Karissa Krievins said. “In some ways we’ve made strides, but in other ways, we’re really in the same spot as women. I’m really hoping that when people come into our gallery space, they find a sense of community, and I hope that they feel welcome to share their individual experiences.”
Petersen said a big part of effecting permanent change is first realizing the universal struggle that is happening, and she hopes this exhibition can bring that to the forefront of attendees’ minds.
“In the end, if you believe in equal opportunity and equal pursuit of happiness in the U.S., then you really oughta consider identifying as a feminist because that’s what we strive for,” Petersen said.
Over the duration of this exhibition, Bell said she hopes people in Logan and people who attend USU will begin to understand that there is gender inequality in Utah.
“I want people to see that and I also want larger communities to connect in that space and to understand that life doesn’t have to be like this — the world doesn’t have to be like this. We can all change together,” Bell said.
Krievins said the exhibition will be informative, interactive and fun.
“It’s fabulous that we have the whole collection, but it’s not enough to just put them up, right?” Petersen said. “So what we’re trying to highlight here is also the importance of call and response in conversation, so throughout the gallery on both sides, visitors will have a lot of opportunities to write or to speak.”
According to Vigneault, the work that will be in the gallery space of the “now” part of the exhibition will be work created by students in her class, but the interactive portion will be open for anybody who comes into that space.
The exhibition is located at the Tippetts and Eccles Galleries on the second floor of the USU Chase Fine Arts Center. Gallery hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. It is free for all and open to the public.
Additionally, there will be informational sessions, performances and other events in partnership with “Guerrilla Grrrl Now!” throughout the duration of the exhibition.
For more information about “Guerrilla Grrrl Now!” and these events, follow @guerrillagrrrlnow on Instagram.
The exhibition was designed and activated by students in Marissa Vigneault’s ARTH 4710 Feminist Theory and Practice in the Visual Arts: Aislinn Baker, Eliza Bell, Hadley Bro, Samantha Castro, Max Demers, Tjaden Elliker, Jenna Erickson, Jayda Gillette, Lilly Jones, Karissa Krievins, Lily Petersen, Mallory Repscher, and Nico Thornley.