Latest news with #WomenArtists
Wall Street Journal
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Wall Street Journal
‘A Room of Her Own: Women Artist-Activists in Britain, 1875-1945' Review: Exhibiting Independence
Williamstown, Mass. In 1928, British author Virginia Woolf asked what women who knew what they wanted—to become creative artists—would need to pursue that goal. Her answer became the title of her celebrated 1929 book 'A Room of One's Own.' It also serves as the inspiration for the invigorating exhibit 'A Room of Her Own: Women Artist-Activists in Britain, 1875-1945,' on view through Sept. 14 at the Clark Art Institute.
Yahoo
03-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Jeannie Seely, Grand Ole Opry Star and Country Music Trailblazer, Dies at 85
Country music trailblazer and Grand Ole Opry star Jeannie Seely died on Friday (Aug. 1) at Summit Medical Center in Hermitage, Tenn., due to complications from an intestinal infection. She was 85. Seely had been battling health issues since last fall and underwent multiple back surgeries this spring, as well as two emergency abdominal surgeries. More from Billboard Will Donald Trump Pardon Diddy? Here's the President's Latest Response Jelly Roll Reveals He Was Injured During WWE SummerSlam Training: 'It's a Constant Collision' Stevie Nicks Postpones 2 Months of Shows Due to Shoulder Injury, Apologizes For 'Inconvenience' Seely was known as a country music trailblazer, with songs such as 'Can I Sleep in Your Arms' and the Grammy-winning 'Don't Touch Me,' and was also known as a fierce advocate for women artists and performers. Seely was born in Titusville, Penn., on July 6, 1940. By age 11, she was singing on a Saturday morning radio show on WMGW, and by 16 she was performing on TV station WICU in Erie, Penn. At 21, she moved California and eventually landed a job at Liberty and Imperial Records in Hollywood. She began writing songs for Four Star Music and was a regular alongside Glen Campbell on the TV series Hollywood Jamboree. She also earned a recording deal with Challenge Records. In 1964, Seely earned the most promising female artist honor from the Country and Western Academy (now the Academy of Country Music). She then moved to Nashville and inked a deal with Monument Records, which released her signature song, 'Don't Touch Me,' in 1966. Inducted into the Grand Ole Opry on Sept. 16, 1967, Seely soon became the first woman to regularly host Opry segments. She was also a trailblazer when it came to the image of women country entertainers, as she was the first to wear a miniskirt onstage at the Opry. Seely played her most recent Grand Ole Opry show on Feb. 22 and made more Grand Ole Opry appearances than any other artist in the show's 100-year history, with 5,397 appearances. In 2022, she was honored when she reached her 5,000th Opry appearance milestone. Seely recorded several hit duets with Jack Greene, including 'Wish I Didn't Have to Miss You,' which reached No. 2 on Billboard's Hot Country Singles chart in 1970. The duo also released songs including 'Much Oblige.' As much a songwriter as a performer, Seely saw her songs recorded by artists including Dottie West, Merle Haggard, Ray Price, Connie Smith, Willie Nelson, Ernest Tubb, Irma Thomas, Rhonda Vincent, Chris LeDoux and Moe Bandy. In addition to music, Seely starred in stage productions of Always, Patsy Cline, The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas and Could It Be Love, and appeared in Nelson's film Honeysuckle Rose (she also sang on the film's soundtrack). Seely was a creative force right up to her passing. In 2020, she released the album An American Classic, a collection of collaborations. In 2024, She released the single 'Suffertime.' And in March 2025, Sony Music Publishing Nashville celebrated Seely by releasing reimagined versions of her songs with ascending women country artists, including Madeline Edwards, Mae Estes, Hannah Dasher and Tiera Kennedy. She also worked as a producer for the bluegrass group Cutter & Cash and The Kentucky Grass. On the radio, Seely hosted the Sundays With Seely weekly show on SiriusXM's Willie's Roadhouse channel, with her most recent episode airing on Sunday (July 27). Seely's career and creative talents have been recognized by numerous organizations. In 2018, she was inducted into the Music City Walk of Fame and earned the first standing ovation award at the inaugural Influencing Women Awards Gala in 2019. That year, Seely was also awarded an honorary Doctor of Arts from Lincoln Memorial University. In 2023, she was recognized with the CMA's prestigious Joe Talbot Award. In 2024, she was honored by SOURCE with the esteemed Jo Walker-Meador Lifetime Achievement Award (Seely was a regular co-host of SOURCE's annual awards ceremony alongside Brenda Lee). And in April 2025, SAG-AFTRA's Studio Space on Music Row was named in Seely's honor. Seely is survived by many friends and family members, including her cat, Corrie. She was preceded in death by her husband Eugene Ward, who died last year; her parents Leo and Irene Seely; and her siblings Donald Seely, Bernard Seely and Mary Lou Seely Lang. A memorial service will be announced. Tomorrow night's Saturday show of the Grand Ole Opry will be dedicated to Seely. 'Jeannie Seely was one-of-a-kind across the board: as an entertainer, friend, and human being. It was an absolute honor for all of us at the Grand Ole Opry that she called this show home and that she thought of us as family. She gave it her all with every single Opry performance. All 5,397 of them. She is loved so much and will never be forgotten,' said Dan Rogers, Sr. Vice President, Executive Producer, Grand Ole Opry and one of Seely's longtime friends, via a statement. 'While I've had the privilege of working with Jeannie Seely over the past 25 years, my immediate grief is deeply personal. Early in my tenure at CMA, I shared unforgettable lunches with Jeannie and Jo Walker Meador, full of stories that were occasionally irreverent but always fascinating,' Sarah Tarhern, CEO of the Country Music Association, said in a statement. 'Jeannie was at the very first Fan Fair with Jack Greene and remained a beloved fixture for decades. She once told me a hilarious story about switching credentials with Dottie West just to keep people on their toes. When the CMA Board honored her with the Joe Talbot Award in 2023, it was for more than her music and fan relationships — it was for her spark. She mentored countless artists, especially women, and while they learned from her confidence and wit, she reminded us she was learning from them too. That humility was part of her magic.' Best of Billboard Chart Rewind: In 1989, New Kids on the Block Were 'Hangin' Tough' at No. 1 Janet Jackson's Biggest Billboard Hot 100 Hits H.E.R. & Chris Brown 'Come Through' to No. 1 on Adult R&B Airplay Chart Solve the daily Crossword
The Guardian
24-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
‘We thought we were being naughty!' The thrilling show by Black and Asian women that rocked the art world
It is November 1985 and in a corridor of London's ICA, a pivotal moment in British art history is about to take place. Curated by Lubaina Himid, The Thin Black Line displays work by 11 Black and Asian women artists, hung on the walls of the museum's narrow walkway – to signify just how they've been marginalised. Their work – which explores social, cultural, political, feminist and aesthetic issues – comes as a shock to the stuffy art establishment. Critics dismiss it, or deride the works as 'angry'. And yet this show, placing Black women artists firmly at the centre of contemporary British art history, will come to be seen as a turning point, paving the way for future winners of the Turner prize (Himid) and Venice Golden Lion (Sonia Boyce). Forty years on, the ICA is revisiting the show with Connecting Thin Black Lines 1985–2025, building on its legacy with new and old works from the original artists, and new contributors. Here, some of them reflect on the original exhibition, the reaction it received, and how the art world has changed. Sutapa Biswas: The 1980s were a charged time politically, socially and economically. I arrived at art college in 1981 with a great degree of understanding about the histories of the empire and how it impacted my parents. They were born in what was called British India. They experienced partition and genocide and were displaced. It was a complex time in the UK, too. In my community in west London, the Southall Youth Movement, an antiracist group, had burned down the Hambrough Tavern where skinhead bands played. Marlene Smith: I was a student, studying for my BA at Bradford School of Art. By the time I joined the BLK Art Group, an association of young Black artists, I was already thinking about my identity in relation to feminism. I was not the only Black person studying, but I was one of few. I was certainly the only person trying to make work with political overtones. Jennifer Comrie: I was living through a really interesting time: the Troubles, the miners' strike, Thatcherism, apartheid in South Africa. My work reflected this. Art for me has always been a wayto garner a better understanding of myself and the world around me. Ingrid Pollard: I was doing various jobs, and signing on for benefits. I was a cleaner. I was a gardener for the council. There weren't any rosy aspirations to be an artist. I had been doing screen-printing in an evening class and then a job came up in this feminist print shop in London, which I got, much to my surprise. There was a dark room there, so I started doing photography. Sutapa: One day on my university course, I was confronted by a painting by Turner titled The Slave Ship. My tutor was talking about the expressionistic nature of the brushmarks. I was sitting there thinking: 'What about what's in the water?' That moment, coupled with what I heard in another lecture, made me think: 'We're talking about class and gender – but we're not talking about race.' Marlene: My painting tutor didn't like what I was doing. He was not at all convinced that art could, or should, be political. So when Lubaina showed up and stood in front of my work and had a conversation with me, it was totally transformative. Jennifer: When Lubaina came in to my studio by chance and looked at my work, she was intrigued and asked if I would be interested in showing it. Initially I was unsure. I did not realise how pivotal this chance meeting would be. Sutapa: I found out Lubaina was doing a talk and went along. I introduced myself and said: 'I'm a student at the University of Leeds. I'd love to interview you.' When I submitted my dissertation, I invited Lubaina to do a talk at the university. There, she saw my painting Housewives with Steak-Knives and the video work Kali. 'I'm organising this exhibition,' she said. 'I would love to include your work.' Marlene: The show was coming up, but I had no idea what to make. Then Cherry Groce was shot [during a police raid on her Brixton home]. So I made Good Housekeeping – a larger than life painting of a woman leaning against a doorway. Behind her outstretched arm is a framed photograph of my sister's birthday party. Above that image, painted on the wall, are the words: 'My mother opens the door at 7am. She is not bulletproof.' I was thinking about Cherry Groce as a middle-aged single mum. Sutapa: The rhetoric was so racist in Britain. So I began to think about performance as strategic intervention. That's what emerged in Kali. But it also has a presence in Housewives with Steak-Knives. It's not a static piece, settled against the wall. It sits forward and looks as if it's going to fall on top of you. Jennifer: Coming to Terms Through Conflict, a work I put in the show, questions identity: northern, Jamaican, British, Black, Christian, etc. Untitled continued this journey. Its broken stitching is intentional, representing a refusal to be contained or defined by social constraints – church, family, anyone. It's a visual declaration of freedom. Marlene: Jenny had this beautiful singing voice. I remember her singing as we were installing. Even when I think of it now, it chokes me up. I remember Sutapa climbing up and writing the words for my work in black paint. Ingrid: It was fun installing it all. We thought we were being slightly naughty, because it was a well-known gallery. It was only later that I understood the ramifications, the politics of what Lubaina was trying to organise. Helen Cammock [participant in new show]: I was 15 when that exhibition was at the ICA. I wasn't interested in art then. It wasn't on my radar until 2005, when I did a photography BA. I had bought some books that contained Ingrid's work. Postcards Home [her photography book about England and the Caribbean] was on my desk while I wrote my dissertation. The images moved me. I was sad. I was angry. I found beauty. Marlene: The response to The Thin Black Line, in terms of art criticism, was pretty appalling. The critics came to it very defensively, rather than looking at what the work had to say. Sutapa and I wrote a piece for Spare Rib magazine, talking about the lack of useful critique around Black artists. Sutapa: The reviews were reduced to questions of identity and that became a platform for white guilt. But the real issue was avoiding the language of our practice, in the way that you might talk about the language of David Hockney's work or Helen Chadwick's. We weren't being afforded the same level criteria. They weren't dealing with the aesthetics of our practice. Helen: It's not a new thing. It happens now. This notion that you're angry. That you're didactic. It's a marginal experience and people aren't interested in it. The whole framing of the show undermined the quality of its ideas, of its potential to shake people's ways of thinking and seeing. Sign up to Art Weekly Your weekly art world round-up, sketching out all the biggest stories, scandals and exhibitions after newsletter promotion Marlene: You would expect a show like The Thin Black Line to create opportunities, but the opposite happened. If you examine the YBAs, there was a synergy with what had happened earlier with the Black Arts Movement; it's striking that they seemed to be using our methods of DIY. However, they were not including the Black artists in their projects. Ingrid: There was never a time, after, when I wasn't making art. I wasn't ill. I didn't have children. I was teaching as a way of keeping a regular income. I didn't have to deal with the aspirations of a gallery representing me. Those things were very alien. Marlene: In 2011, Tate did a show looking back at The Thin Black Line. And then Graves Gallery stumbled across work by the BLK Art Group and did a show. So that felt like something was happening. Over the last 10 years, it feels like there's been a resurgence of interest in the Black Arts Movement because, despite its significance, it has not made it into discussions of art history. Amber Akaunu [in the new show]: I studied art and art history at Liverpool Hope University from 2015 to 2018. I didn't really learn about Black art history. I feel a bit of pain when I find out about things I didn't know. I started a magazine with another artist in the course called Rooted. We just felt there was a big gap in knowledge. Sutapa: After the show, I continued to work. I showed with Vito Acconci, Tania Bruguera, Doris Salcedo and Louise Bourgeois at Iniva in London. In 2004 I had a show there that was not nominated for the Turner. Where is my retrospective at the Tate? Where is Claudette Johnson's? I have not received accolades for my recent exhibitions at the Baltic and Kettle's Yard. Ingrid: Getting recognition came after a long period of work, 20 to 30 years. I was surprised to be nominated for the Turner. It raises your public profile. The media had ignored me and a lot of artists for 40 years. Marlene: I had a solo show called Ah, Sugar in2024. At the opening, Lubaina introduced me to the curators from the ICA and said that this new exhibition, Connecting Thin Black Lines, would be coming up. It was a surprise, exciting. Helen: I was looking at the complete lineup. Their voices weren't heard before – and now they are being heard more loudly than ever. Amber: Lubaina hosted a lunch for some of the artists who were going to be in this new show. I just sat there and soaked everything in. It was shocking – but touching – to hear their stories. A lot of these artists have gained so much success, but you can still hear the hurt. I related so much. Some 30 to 40 years on, I'm having similar experiences. I remember curating an exhibition over four days, and showing some work for Black History Month, and we weren't paid for it. Ingrid: A lot of the young students I speak to are still complaining: lack of recognition, opportunities. Things change, but they remain the same. My advice is you need a gang. You can't do it on your own. It takes a village to make an artist. Helen: It happened to be a really monumental experience for me being in a show called Carte de Visite with Claudette Johnson and Ingrid Pollard in 2015. I think it encapsulated what's happening now, the interconnectedness across generations. Marlene: It was a real privilege for me to exhibit with them in the first place. And it's a real privilege to be reunited. It's always nerve-wracking when you make new work. There's a bit of an echo between the piece I've made this time and the 1985 piece. This piece is probably more gentle. Amber: The film I'm showing is about motherhood and friendship. It's a documentary style that that explores my childhood being raised by a single mum in Toxteth, Liverpool. Jennifer: It's incredible to see the works being recognised again after 40 years. It genuinely feels like a few moments ago we were setting up the works in the ICA's corridor. Ingrid: I'm hoping the exhibition annoys a lot of people in the art world. When they had an opportunity to engage with these artists, they didn't take it. So it's like: 'See what you missed out on, mate.' Connecting Thin Black Lines 1985-2025 is at the ICA, London, until 7 September
BBC News
03-06-2025
- Climate
- BBC News
Leamington Art Gallery and Museum shut as rain affects repairs
A town's Art Gallery and Museum has been temporarily closed due to ''unforeseen circumstances'' relating to roof repairs. Recent weather impacted a multi-million pound project to restore the Grade II listed Royal Pump Rooms building in Leamington Spa, Warwick District Council said. A statement on the gallery's Facebook page said it had shut as a ''precautionary measure'' for the safety of visitors and staff. It said the closure was necessary due to the "ongoing complexities" of essential roof repairs, "made more challenging by recent and forecast heavy rainfall". The closure, which has been ongoing since 29 May, means the opening of the gallery's latest exhibition, A Different View: Women Artists in the collection, has been postponed. A spokesperson said a further update would be provided on Wednesday. A crane is being used to remove air-handling units from the building's roof before ''critical repairs'' the council said would preserve the "iconic building for generations to come''. The Royal Pump Rooms, in the town centre, houses a museum, library, café and visitor information centre and is "an integral part" of the town's history, the local authority has said. The library and cafe remain accessible to the council had originally said the building would stay open for business despite being covered in has promised further updates on the works as soon as possible. Follow BBC Coventry & Warwickshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
Arab News
17-05-2025
- General
- Arab News
Saudi artist preserves Al-Qatt Al-Asiri art over decades
RIYADH: For more than three decades, Saudi visual artist Ibrahim Al-Almaai has devoted his time to documenting Al-Qatt Al-Asiri, a vibrant, centuries-old art form traditionally painted by women on the walls of homes across the Asir region. In a statement to the Saudi Press Agency, Al-Almaai emphasized that for the past 33 years, not a week has passed without him visiting a village in the eastern, western, northern, or central parts of the Asir region. His mission: to seek out the remnants of this heritage art in homes, many of which have been lost to time and weather. Despite the challenges, he has documented more than 1,200 variations of Al-Qatt patterns and colors. The traditional art, known as Al-Qatt, Al-Katba, or Al-Zayan, received international reognition in 2017 when it was registered on the UNESCO list of Intangible Cultural Heritage. But long before, Al-Almaai had been tirelessly cataloging the artwork, oftenn navigating harsh conditions, including dilapidated buildings and the threat of snakes and poisonous insects, to reach the artworks. Almost every visit revealed intricate designs made using natural pigments sourced from the surrounding environment. He explained to SPA that there are four key components of a typical heritage home adorned with Al-Qatt. Al Shabaka (the Network) are single-colored, interlaced lines that create the structural foundation of the design. Al-Hanash (the Snake) are serpent-like motifs inspired by the Coluber snake, winding rhythmically across the walls. Al-Khatmah or Al-Akhtam (the Seal) are a form of visual closure at the end of a design. Al-Qatt (the Lines) are the horizontal strokes layered beneath the primary art, referred to as Al-Katba (the Writing), Al-Naqsh (the Inscription), or Al-Zayan (the Adornment) depending on the local dialect. Al-Almaai's lifelong dedication underscores the importance of preserving Saudi Arabia's artistic and cultural legacy — one painted wall at a time.
