Submissions are being sought for a female-focused art show raising money for Planned Parenthood of Illinois.
The Nasty Women Oak Park art exhibition and fundraiser will be held from 6-9 p.m. Sept. 16 at Magical Minds Studio, 110 Madison St. in Oak Park.
Modeled after shows in Chicago and Evanston, the exhibition seeks donations of female-focused art from those who identify as female. Art can be submitted for consideration until Aug. 15, said Dima Ali, one of the event’s organizers.
Artwork will be on display during the event and available for purchase, with money benefiting Planned Parenthood of Illinois, Ali said. The free event also will feature live entertainment and refreshments.
Lauren Krieg, Alison Price and Magical Minds owner Haj Herbert, all organizers of the event, said they hope to see submissions from junior high through college students, in addition to those from community artists.
Ali said they’d like to have 120 pieces, priced from $25 to $200, although they’re open to taking more than that. They hope to raise $10,000.
Organizers would like to see a variety of paintings, sculptures, ceramics, textile arts, jewelry and more.
“There’s a lot of talent in this town,” Herbert said.
The first Nasty Women art show was held in New York, Ali said, and it raised $40,000; since then, similar shows have been held around the world, collecting money for women’s issues. The name refers to President Donald Trump calling Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton a “nasty woman” during a presidential debate last year; it’s since been adopted as a badge of honor by feminist activists.
Ali, who emigrated from Iraq and became a U.S. citizen earlier this year, said she’s passionate about women’s rights. With Oak Park’s progressive reputation, the show seemed like something the community could get behind, she added.
“It opens the door for more events like this, to feel like, ‘oh, they can pull this off,’ ” Herbert said.
Katie Kamholz, an art therapist who lives in Oak Park, submitted a fiber art piece she had started prior to hearing about the event.
“I like to think about gender roles and feminism, especially in craftmaking,” she said.
Since the 2016 presidential election, Kamholz said she’s pondered, “how do I go forward in a way that’s authentic to who I am? What does resistance look like for me?”
Kamholz appreciates that art provides that opportunity, and said she’s been inspired by the ways fellow artists have made such statements. Her 10 inch-by-10 inch piece, featuring the now ubiquitous phrase “She persisted,” is almost complete.
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“In art, you can make a more public stance through your artmaking that, I think, is really powerful,” Kamholz said. “I’ve seen so much going on around me, and I wanted to participate.”
For more information on the event, visit www.oakparkart.com or www.facebook.com/nastywomenop.
Caitlin Mullen is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.