about Hera Gallery |  some images from this exhibition |  schedule of events

AS220 Project Space
October 1 - November 20
 
One Union Station, Providence, RI
 
Opening Reception:
Friday, October 1, 5 - 8 pm

Hera Gallery
October 9 - November 13
 
327 Main Street Wakefield, RI
 
Opening Reception:
Saturday, October 9, 5 - 8 pm

The exhibition, installed at the AS220 Project Space in Providence, and at Hera Gallery in Wakefield, looks back at the genesis and evolution of one of the first women artists' co-operative galleries in America. From 1974 to the present, Hera Gallery has shown the work of over 125 member artists, and presented over 300 exhibitions to audiences in Rhode Island.

Hera Gallery: The First Thirty Years will include the work of past and present members, contextualized within the cultural and world events of three decades. The exhibitions will examine the origins, celebrate the accomplishments, and look forward to Hera's creative future.

Please see the schedule below for more events related to these exhibitions.

Hera Gallery is supported in part by The Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, The Friends of Hera, and The Hera Educational Foundation.

Hera Gallery: The First Thirty Years is sponsored in part by
Kingstown Camera, Wakefield, Rhode Island.

Hera Gallery is handicapped accessible.

Hera began as a not-for-profit women's artist cooperative in 1974, three years after feminist art scholar Linda Nochlin published her influential essay, "Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?" in the January 1971 issue of Art News Magazine.

The essay reflected a growing general dissatis-faction with socially sanctioned discrimination in all areas of the culture on the basis of race, gender, and sexual orientation at a time when cooperatively-run galleries for women artists were popping up all over the country.

Hera Gallery, like ARC and Artemisia in Chicago, Womanhouse in Los Angeles, and AIR and SOHO 20 in New York City, offered women artists a supportive alternative space to show their work during an era when it was often difficult to gain representation by commercial galleries, or have their work displayed and collected by museums. Over the years, Hera Gallery broadened its mission to include the work of regionally and nationally recognized visual artists of both genders who are at all stages of their careers.

Today, Hera is the place to go to see innovative contemporary art in Rhode Island. Hera Gallery plays a vital role in shaping the regional art scene, and our groundbreaking exhibitions reflect the cultural climate. Exhibits such as "Girl Art Now", "Sites of Memory and Honor", and "Artists Defend the Environment Under Siege" are examples of flexibility and commitment to presenting exhibitions with artistic merit and integrity.

"American Democracy Under Siege", an exhibit curated by Claudia Flynn and Troy West, included gallery members, Brown University faculty, The University of Rhode Island students and faculty, and artist from across New England, who collaborated to bring together an exhibition that addressed the issues of freedom and liberty in America and its global repercussions.
The definition of Hera Gallery changes according to the goals of the gallery's artists, curators, scholars, and community. Hera's reputation as a continually evolving cultural space echoes the sentiments of founding member, Bernadette Hackett, when she said:

"[The gallery] should change until we might not recognize it, as we have all changed, sometimes beyond recognition. I like the idea that Hera is only an idea and not an institution."

By Cynthia Farnell

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Opening Reception: Hera Gallery: The First Thirty Years
AS220 Project Space
One Union Station, Providence, Rhode Island
Friday, October 1, 5 - 8 pm

Opening Reception: Hera Gallery: The First Thirty Years
Hera Gallery, Wakefield, Rhode Island
Saturday, October 9, 5 - 8 pm

The opening reception in Wakefield features the return engagement of the Art*O*Mat, a vintage cigarette machine refitted to dispense packs of art. Don't miss your chance to purchase the Hera Gallery mini-portfolio from the Art*O*Mat, specially created by Hera Gallery Artists!

Panel Discussion: Hera and the Women's Art Movement
AS220 Project Space, Providence, Rhode Island
Thursday, October 21, Gallery Night, 6:30 pm

The panel discussion will examine the relationships between the women's art movement and the genesis and evolution of Hera Gallery.

Closing Reception and Panel for
Hera Gallery:The First Thirty Years
Contemporary Art in South County: A Community Panel
Where have we been? Where are we going?
Hera Gallery, Wakefield, Rhode Island
Saturday, November 13, 6-8 pm

The panel will examine the vibrant South County Art art scene, the notion of creative capital, cultural tourism, artists' and gallery spaces, and our goals for the future of the arts in South County.

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