What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/1049912
JOCELYN MURPHY NWA Democrat-Gazette O ne of the most significant artists of the 20th century and an indisputable Mexican, feminist and LGBTQ icon arrived in Springdale this weekend with a brand new exhibition at the Arts Center of the Ozarks. "Frida Kahlo's Garden" is an adaptation of "Frida Kahlo: Art, Garden, Life," which was created for and displayed at the New York Botanical Garden. ACO is the first venue to host the new exhibition on its debut tour, and organizers from both the local side and the exhibition's city of origin are quick to acknowledge the significance of Kahlo's story landing in Springdale. "I am excited because I feel like this is the first bridge that's going to communicate that this center is here for [everyone]," shares Eve Smith, director of exhibitions and public programs at ACO. "I mean, we have done other inclusive programming, [but] this exhibition, because it's in the galleries, is the first time that the Latinx [and] Hispanic communities [are] going to see themselves as having access to an exhibition space like this. We haven't had a whole lot of programming that is inclusive like that, especially in the galleries." "It's wonderful to see this exhibition traveling to communities throughout the United States, including to parts of the country that haven't previously hosted exhibitions on Kahlo, so that more and more people can learn the history and significance of her work," adds Joanna Groarke, director of public engagement and library exhibitions curator at the New York Botanical Garden. "Kahlo is truly an icon in Mexico and worldwide — and for some audiences, this exhibition about her work and her life will represent the first time they can feel like they see themselves in our arts institutions, and visit a fully bilingual exhibition, which is very exciting." The original exhibition was the first to focus on Kahlo's interest in the botanical world and her engagement with the nature surrounding her home and studio Casa Azul ("Blue House") in Coyoacán, Mexico City. This fresh perspective — one not centered around her famed husband or the tragedy that filled Kahlo's life — broadens audiences' understanding of Kahlo as an artist and hopefully allows for deeper connection to her body of work. "Frida Kahlo's Garden" incorporates reproductions of iconic images of the artist and of some of her paintings with examples of native Mexican plants that would have been in Kahlo's garden, as well as replicas of authentic Mexican folk art and a traditional dress reflective of those she often wore. FEATURE 8 WHAT'S UP! NOVEMBER 11-17, 2018 Step Into The Garden Frida Kahlo's world opens to Springdale "Today, Frida Kahlo is enor- mously famous worldwide. She has been embraced as an icon by many groups over time — including feminists and individuals of Mexican or Latin American descent. Her self-portraits are immediately recognizable, and they adorn everything from the walls of museums to T-shirts and all kinds of products. Kahlo embraced and embodied her hybrid Mexican identity — her father was German and her mother was Mexican — and in her art, in the collections of pre-Hispanic objects, colonial and folk art, and in the books, plants, and even animals that she gathered in her home in Mexico City, we see her pride in her heritage. It's a powerful expression of her very personal sense of identity that resonates today." — JOANNA GROARKE, Director of public engagement and library exhibitions curator at the New York Botanical Garden, where "Frida Kahlo's Garden" was created Photo courtesy: Nickolas Muray, © Nickolas Muray Photo Archives "Frida with Picasso Earrings," 1939