Dear Friend:

In response to the US Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and in conjunction with the group exhibition, ROE 2.0, Woman Made Gallery is asking for your voice by sharing your abortion story. This is an on-going project and there is no entry due date. We'll exhibit the stories as they come in, and we feature them on WMG's website.  

We know that there are dozens of reasons why abortions are necessary and it is never a decision taken lightly.

“It was the right decision for me and for the children I already gave birth to.” “I was not ready to be a mother.” “I got my life back.” “It allowed me to complete my education.” “I was able to leave my bad relationship.” “It secured my future.” “It saved my life.” “It was medically and mentally necessary.” “I did not want to be pregnant.”

Whatever the reasons, the most outrageous part of all of this, is that half of the population has been told that they no longer have rights over their own body and that they are now 2nd class citizens.

When I had my abortion, I could not be more unprepared. I was using contraception. yet I accidentally became pregnant. I had no job and I had just been admitted to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago to receive my Master’s degree which made a tremendous difference in my life and my career, receiving the credentials necessary to teach.

There are a thousand stories. I had pretty much forgotten mine, pushed it aside. When it was over, I moved on, taught college Art, exhibited my work, and promoted other Women artists.

Even if you have not had an abortion, you know someone who has. You may have driven them to the appointment. You may remember the feelings of that day and many years afterward.

We are soliciting those personal stories now not to exceed more than 500 words. You may sign your name, or stay anonymous. With your permission, your story together with others will be printed and exhibited on one large gallery wall from floor to ceiling. We will also share stories on WMG’s website, and there will be an opportunity for you to tell your story in person during a special gallery event.

You have a choice to sign your name, or to be anonymous and your identity will be omitted. There is no entry fee to submit your story. By clicking the checkbox in this application, you accept and agree to the Acknowledgment and Grant of Permission. If you do not agree to the Acknowledgment and Grant of Permission, you should not submit your experience to Woman Made for the Roe 2.0 Exhibition and/or for the Online Project: My Abortion: My Choice. 

Regards, Marcia Grubb

Lifetime WMG Member | Past President of Woman Made Gallery

Keywords:  Roe v. Wade, Reproductive Rights, Pro-Choice, Feminism, Feminist, My Body, My Choice,  Planned Parenthood, Abortion Is Healthcare, Womens Rights

IMPORTANT DATES 

EXHIBITION DATES: January 28 - March 4, 2023
OPENING RECEPTION: Saturday, January 28 at 4-7 PM CST
STORY DUE DATE: December 31, 2023, 11:59 PM CST 

Exhibition Description: The Midwest Open is an annual exhibition at WMG that highlights women and non-binary artistic excellence from the Midwest. According to the United States Census Bureau, the 12 states in the Midwest include Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota. This exhibition puts forth the vibrancy, diversity, and strong feminist voice right here in the Heartland. 

As a juried exhibition, each iteration of the Midwest Open offers applicants the unique opportunity to have their work reviewed by esteemed arts professionals and industry connectors. The exhibition then results from a highly selective juried competition and presents excellent work across career levels. Hundreds of artists enter our competitions every year, but only a limited number make it through the jurying process. Cash prizes are awarded to three artists in the exhibition, as designated by the juror. 

Awards: 1st place: $300 | 2nd place: $200 | 3rd place: $100 

The exhibition benefits artists and viewers alike. While included artists receive exposure, those with an interest in art made by women and non-binary folks are provided with an invaluable resource for discovering Midwestern talent.   

Woman Made Gallery seeks artwork in all mediums. The theme of the exhibition is OPEN.

About the Juror: Kimberly Oliva
Kimberly Oliva received her Bachelor of Art degree from Loyola University in 2001. She is the owner of Oliva Gallery and co-founder of ALMA Art and Interiors in Chicago. Prior to opening ALMA, in 2021, Oliva Gallery exhibited at SOFA. Kimberly is a member of the Arts Club Chicago, founder of Mozart Park Mural program, and co-chair of Mozart Park Chicago Park District. With a diverse professional background ranging from interior design to jewelry to contemporary art, Kimberly has been immersed in the art scene for over two decades. 

In early 2002, Kimberly started selling at the Chicago Randolph Street Market. She has since expanded to exhibiting local and world-renowned artworks in cities such as Detroit, Massachusetts, Michigan, Texas, Oregon, and Washington. Kimberly is also in the process of organizing museum exhibits for 2024. In her free time, she enjoys attending art exhibits, strolling the historic tree-lined boulevards of Logan Square and Humboldt Park, and road-tripping across the United States in search of fresh inventory for Oliva and ALMA. Her passion for art, design, and community has made Oliva Gallery and ALMA Art and Interiors a unique and inspiring destination for art enthusiasts and collectors alike. For more information visit https://www.olivagallery.com/   

Important Dates
Exhibition Dates: September 2 - 30, 2023
Opening Reception: Saturday, September 2 at 4-7 PM CST
First Entry Due Date: July 6, 2023, 11:59 PM CST
Extended Due Date (fee increase to $35): * July 13, 11:59 PM CST
Notification: July 22, 2023

Entry Fee
*The entry fee is $30 until the first deadline. The entry fee will then increase to $35 per entry for an extended due date.  Each entry requires a minimum of one artwork, though up to three artworks may be considered per submission. Entry fees are non-refundable.
Members at the Enhanced Artist Level and above receive one free entry annually. Please email general@womanmade.org to receive your one-time code for free entry redemption.

WMG offers fee waivers to those who request the need. WMG offers up to 30 fee waivers per exhibition. To acknowledge the historic inequities of wealth distribution, they are exclusively reserved for ALAANA/BIPOC and/or LGBTQIA+. Factors that result in an approved application include financial instability or low income status, student or recent graduate status, identification as ALAANA/BIPOC and/or LGBTQIA+, or a demonstrated need otherwise. The WMG team will approve and send a fee waiver link within 2 days of artist's request. Please email WMG at general@womanmade.org to request a fee-waiver.

Eligibility
Woman Made Gallery is a space for women and nonbinary artists, including trans women and femme/feminine-identifying genderqueer artists. We welcome art from women and non-binary artists from our local community, regionally based, and around the world.

Due to wall size restrictions, artworks must fall within 6’ horizontally and under 75 pounds in weight, unless delivered to and picked up from our 4th floor gallery by the artist. Artists may be additionally responsible for the installation of oversized works.

New media artworks are eligible. To be considered, artists must  submit a sample .mp4 or URL under 10 mins for purposes of consideration. For exhibition, WMG requires a digital transfer (Google Drive, Vimeo downloads, WeTransfer) as well as a USB formatted in .mp4 file format delivered to the gallery. WMG can provide a limited number of media players, Epson projectors and TV monitors with basic speakers. All other new media needs are the responsibility of the artist.

Art Sales
Accepted work may be listed for sale or be not for sale (NFS). WMG will retain a 40% commission on sold works. Work remains the property of the artist until sold. Sold artworks shall remain in the exhibition until the end of the exhibition. Artists will be paid no later than 30 days after the close of the exhibit.

Terms of Exhibition
An artist contract with full terms of the exhibition will be administered at the time of acceptance notification.

Artists need to retrieve their work by the date noted in the artist contract or make alternate arrangements. WMG is unable to store work beyond the pick-up date. Artists may donate their art to WMG's fundraising efforts if unable to pick it up. WMG is happy to talk through preparations, offer advice, and recommend resources as requested.

Open to women and nonbinary artists: Woman Made Gallery seeks artwork in all mediums that explore ideas surrounding the mystery of time, the abstract nature of memory, and/or the necessity and complexity of myth. Juried by Monica J. Brown, the exhibition will be on display from October 14 to November 11, 2023.

Exhibition Description:  What is the essence of time? How does time relate to and affect memory? How do we create our personal myths?

Memory is the fabric of life experience. Although life events may be experienced with others, memory is a solo journey because it is a reproduction of events filtered through personal perception, combined with an interpretation of past experiences. Beyond nostalgia, memory holds an essence of our awareness of ourselves. It is a template for how we perceive relationships and informs our interactions within them. The stories of our personal histories live in our bodies along with the stories of our ancestry, which we carry in our DNA. These stories shape how we view the world and our place within it. Together, these narratives form a personal mythology. Time and memory inform this mythmaking.

Memory is an abstraction. It holds our entire history, but how much of that is our “real” story? What stories do we tell ourselves about this story? Which stories do we own and which ones own us? And how do we break free of those that don’t serve our greatest good? In what ways do time and memory inform the larger mythos that shapes life philosophies and religious beliefs?

About the Juror: Monica J. Brown
Monica J. Brown explores memory, history, and personal mythology through visual art, sound, movement, writing, and performance. Her visual art has been exhibited widely throughout Chicago as well as nationally and internationally. Selected exhibition spaces include SooVAC, Minneapolis, MN; The Center for Contemporary Art, Bedminster, NJ; and Ucross Art Gallery, Ucross, WY. Her work has been written about in the Chicago Reader, the Detroit Art Review, and MPLSART.COM.

Monica has created murals with Chicago’s Hubbard Street Mural Project and Detroit’s Live6 Neighborhood Arts Project. Her work is currently represented by Black Art in America and SoNa Chicago Gallery. She is a Ucross fellow and has attended residencies at Atlantic Center for the Arts, Ragdale, and Dorland Mountain Arts Colony, among others. She has received grants from Chicago DCASE and the Illinois Arts Council Agency and is a recipient of Columbia College’s Albert P. Weisman Award. Monica earned a BFA from Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles and an MA from Columbia College Chicago. She currently resides in Chicago.

Important Dates
Exhibition Dates: October 14–November 11, 2023
Opening Reception: Saturday, October 14 at 4–7 PM CST
First Entry Due Date: August 31, 2023, 11:59 PM CST
Extended Due Date (fee increase to $35): * September 7, 11:59 PM CST
Notification: September 14, 2023

Entry Fee
*The entry fee is $30 until the first deadline. The entry fee will then increase to $35 per entry for an extended due date.  Each entry requires a minimum of one artwork, though up to three artworks may be considered per submission. Entry fees are non-refundable.

Members at the Enhanced Artist Level and above receive one free entry annually. Please email general@womanmade.org to receive your one-time code for free entry redemption.

WMG offers fee waivers to those who request the need. WMG offers up to 30 fee waivers per exhibition. To acknowledge the historic inequities of wealth distribution, they are exclusively reserved for ALAANA/BIPOC and/or LGBTQIA+. Factors that result in an approved application include financial instability or low-income status, student or recent graduate status, identification as ALAANA/BIPOC and/or LGBTQIA+, or a demonstrated need otherwise. The WMG team will approve and send a fee waiver link within 2 days of artist's request. Please email WMG at general@womanmade.org to request a fee-waiver.

Eligibility
Woman Made Gallery is a space for women and nonbinary artists, including trans women and femme/feminine-identifying genderqueer artists. We welcome art from women and non-binary artists from our local community, regionally based, and around the world.

Due to wall size restrictions, artworks must fall within 6’ horizontally and under 75 pounds in weight, unless delivered to and picked up from our 4th floor gallery by the artist. Artists may be additionally responsible for the installation of oversized works.

New media artworks are eligible. To be considered, artists must submit a sample .mp4 or URL under 10 mins for purposes of consideration. For exhibition, WMG requires a digital transfer (Google Drive, Vimeo downloads, WeTransfer) as well as a USB formatted in .mp4 file format delivered to the gallery. WMG can provide a limited number of media players, Epson projectors and TV monitors with basic speakers. All other new media needs are the responsibility of the artist.

Art Sales
Accepted work may be listed for sale or be not for sale (NFS). WMG will retain a 40% commission on sold works. Work remains the property of the artist until sold. Sold artworks shall remain in the exhibition until the end of the exhibition. Artists will be paid no later than 30 days after the close of the exhibit.

Terms of Exhibition
An artist contract with full terms of the exhibition will be administered at the time of acceptance.

Artists need to retrieve their work by the date noted in the artist contract or make alternate arrangements. WMG is unable to store work beyond the pick-up date. Artists may donate their art to WMG's fundraising efforts if unable to pick it up. WMG is happy to talk through preparations, offer advice, and recommend resources as requested.