Menu
OAKHURST, CA (March 13, 2023) - First responders save lives; second responders help put people's lives back together. Artists are essential workers in our society and our economy, helping us recover, reflect and rebuild. - Californians for the Arts.
Artists have always been the second responders. After plague, pestilence, disaster and death, artists emerge, conjuring up new worlds we need to see and offering new words we need to hear. Art is the language that connects us. Toni Morrison once mused on the need for creating during times of deep distress. Her answer resonates today:
"This is precisely the time when artists go to work. There is no time for despair, no place for self-pity, no need for silence, no room for fear. I know the world is bruised and bleeding, and though it is important not to ignore its pain, it is also critical to refuse to succumb to its malevolence. Like failure, chaos contains information that can lead to knowledge-- even wisdom. Like art."
During the month of March (Women's History Month) Yosemite Sierra Artists will be hosting the Third Annual all-women show. The first of its kind in the Mountain Area, Visions of Self portrays both the internal and external landscapes of women's lives. Some of the images will be literal self-portraits; some will be imaginative representations of emotion, environment and aspects of women's daily lives.
We invite women from around the world to share their visions of self with us. How have world events of the last 2-3 years had an effect on individual lives? How have they changed our relationships, our hopes and dreams for the future? How have they strengthened and motivated us? According to Brene Brown: "Art has the power to render sorrow beautiful, make loneliness a shared experience, and transform despair into hope."
Prominent themes in this year's show include identity, mental health and the environment. This year we have 100 pieces by 82 artists from 8 countries. We are pleased to welcome Mikayla Soukup, a fifteen-year-old local artist in the show.
Visions of Self is a virtual show which opened on March 1, 2023, at MettaGallery.com. An in-person show with works from local women artists who have been accepted into the Visions of Self show will open on March 11 at Metta Gallery. The opening reception will be Saturday, March 25, 2023, from 3:00-5:00 pm Pacific Time at Metta Yosemite, located at 40359 Hwy 41, Suite 1 in Oakhurst. For more information, contact Wendy Denton at wendydenton@sti.net.
