50 Years of Women's Studio Workshop: Erin Zona & Maymanah Farhat

A discussion of Women's Studio Workshop's (WSW) philosophy, history, and evolution as a uniquely supportive and fiercely independent space for artists working in print and paper.

To coincide with the 50 Years of Women's Studio Workshop exhibition in the Sherry Grover Gallery, Women's Studio Workshop (WSW) Executive Director, Erin Zona will join exhibition curator Maymanah Farhat in conversation including an overview of WSW and the importance of this 50th anniversary with highs & lows over the organization's history. The two will share an understanding of their approach to and inspiration for the curatorial thesis and process for this exhibition, and will talk about how non-profit art spaces like WSW (based in the Hudson Valley in New York State) are crucial to ensuring that a range of American art is being supported and realized. This conversation will be moderated by Catherine-Alice Michaelis, Associate Director of the Cynthia Sears Artist's Books Collection. Reception following.

About Women's Studio Workshop (WSW):

Women's Studio Workshop has produced over 230 limited edition artists’ books since their publishing imprint began in 1979. These books can have a traditional book structure with a cover and sequential pages, they can be sculptural objects, or they can be elaborately folded constructions. Hand printed and bound in their Hudson Valley (NY) studios — with the artist as the leading visionary for the project — these books are created onsite during the artist’s residency with WSW's Artistic Director and Studio Manager overseeing the production process.

WSW books are characterized by the combination of media available at WSW, and may incorporate handmade paper, letterpress, silkscreen, intaglio, relief, photo-based elements, and/or ceramics.

Women's Studio Workshop's books are in collections world-wide, including eleven institutions that are repositories for all their publications: Scripps College (CA), Bainbridge Island Museum of Art (WA), Indiana University (IN), Rochester Institute of Technology (NY), University of Delaware (DE), Vassar College (NY), Virginia Commonwealth University (VA), Yale University (CT), University of Michigan (MI), The Library of Congress (D.C.), and Bucknell University (PA). The organization offers many residency opportunities including the BIMA Artist's Book Residency Grant for Indigenous Artists.

Guest bios:

Maymanah Farhat’s art historical research and curatorial work focus on underrepresented artists and forgotten art scenes. Since 2005, she has written on modern and contemporary art, contributing to edited volumes, artist monographs, and museum and gallery catalogs. She has also written for Brooklyn Rail, Art Journal, Journal of Middle East Women’s Studies, Callaloo: A Journal of African Diaspora Arts and Letters, Vogue Arabia, Harper’s Bazaar Arabia, Art + Auction, and Apollo. Farhat has curated exhibitions throughout the U.S. and abroad, notably at the Minnesota Museum of American Art, Minnesota Center for Book Arts, San Francisco Center for the Book, Pro Arts Gallery & Commons (Oakland, CA), Center for Book Arts (New York, NY), Arab American National Museum, Virginia Commonwealth University Gallery (Doha, Qatar), Art Dubai, and the Beirut Exhibition Center. In 2014, she was included among Foreign Policy’s annual list of "100 Leading Global Thinkers" in recognition of her scholarship on Syrian art after the uprising. She holds a Master of Arts degree in Museum Administration from St. John’s University, New York.

Erin Zona has been working as a facilitator and collaborator in the arts for over 20 years. Focused across multiple platforms and usually within the framework of printmaking and independent publishing, she is a practicing artist with special interest in research-based projects that utilize archives and special collections, especially those highlighting queer and lesbian histories. As Co-Executive Director of Women's Studio Workshop (WSW), she is responsible for the artistic vision and integrity of all programs and projects including WSW’s artist’s book publishing imprint, studio residencies, exhibitions, as well as WSW’s youth and adult art education series. Zona oversees the panel selection for all competitive programs and co-represents over 200 artists from WSW’s publishing catalog in the sales and distribution of artists’ books.

Guest website/social:

https://wsworkshop.org | http://www.erinzona.com. | https://maymanahfarhat.com