Faith Ringgold—Legendary Artist for COVID-19 Online Art Exhibition

PARIS - Nov. 17, 2020 - PRLog -- The Wells International Foundation (WIF) is pleased to announce the inclusion of Faith Ringgold's American People Series #16: Woman Looking in a Mirror, 1966, in its virtual art exhibition entitled COVID-19 PAGES: The Inspiration & Influence of Women.

This exhibition celebrates the essential work of women around the world who are mitigating the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in all sectors of the economy.  It is a collaboration between WIF (Houston, TX), the Anderson Brickler Gallery (Tallahassee, FL), and Thinking CAP: Collaborative Arts Projects (Tallahassee, FL) – collectively known as WIF/ABG/CAP.

COVID-19 PAGES will unfold in two stages.  Phase I will showcase contributions by professional women artists.  These women – particularly women of color – are marginalized regarding their access to exhibition space and underpaid for their work relative to their male counterparts.  The exhibition will provide a singular opportunity for them to expose their work as part of the reckoning of the unprecedented historic event that is the COVID-19 pandemic.

Phase II will consist of community outreach to nonprofessional artists (women and girls) from schools, youth groups, shelters, and other service organizations. These women and girls will draw inspiration from the works submitted for Phase I to create drawings, paintings, photos, and collages that will help them release the emotional and mental trauma of the pandemic through the healing power of art as therapy.

Exhibition curator Kabuya Pamela Bowens-Saffo conceived the idea of inviting renowned female artists to contribute artwork to the exhibition.  Faith Ringgold was the first to respond to this invitation.

Ringgold is a legendary artist and educator.  Leading by example in all aspects of her visual and literary arts career, she has advocated for the equal inclusion of women artists and black artists in museums since the 1960s.  Her work can be found in the collections of the U.S.' premier museums, including the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

Because of Ringgold's faithful activism, critically-acclaimed artworks, and legacy as an arts educator in NYC public schools, WIF Founder and CEO, Dr. Monique Y. Wells, feels that including an image of Woman Looking in a Mirror in the COVID-19 PAGES exhibition epitomizes the spirit that WIF/ABG/CAP wants to evoke with this project:

"Ms. Ringgold's Looking in a Mirror is a poignant representation of what women around the world are doing today – reflecting on their lives, however fleetingly, as they draw from the resources deep within themselves and take positive action to support and preserve community."

COVID-19 PAGES will open on International Women's Day (March 8) 2021. For information about contributing artwork, click on the link below:

https://wellsinternationalfoundation.org/covid-19-pages/