Haddonfield Memorial High School’s (HMHS) 50/50 club is teaming up with the Haddon Fortnightly to present its third annual “Through a Woman’s Eyes” Art Show on March 19 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Haddon Fortnightly, 301 Kings Hwy E., Haddonfield. The event is free with a suggested donation of $10. All proceeds will benefit Girls Learn International, the parent organization of the 50/50 chapters that promotes education for women nationally and internationally.
Meredith Simms, president of the HMHS 50/50 club, explained she had come up with this year’s theme “Hidden Women” in 2020, while researching women to name the awards after for the “Vision of Equality” art show. During her research she noticed that a lot of the women they were honoring were white. Though the show had ultimately been canceled due to COVID, Simms held onto the idea for this year.
“I thought it would be so important for our town to recognize women who are not really seen in the feminist movements,” Simms said. She had looked at Black women, native women and queer women especially because they had gone unnoticed during the second wave of feminism.
“There was this idea that they would bring the (feminist) movement down because they were minorities,” Simms explained.
The theme is reflected both in the ways that the artists choose to interpret it as well as through the prizes they can win as each category is associated with a Hidden Woman. The women being honored this year are Claudette Colvin, Patsy Mink, Kati Kariko, Madonna Thunder Hawk, Sylvia Rivera and Rosalind Franklin. The women will be highlighted both in the award and around the art show where their biographies will be displayed.
“This year, it was really about calling attention to women in a bunch of fields like science, politics, arts, that are just underrepresented,” said Margaret Gammie, 50/50 club advisor and history teacher at HMHS.
While some are historic figures, some are more recent including Kati Kariko, whose work with mRNA laid the basis for the Bio n Tech COVID vaccine.
“I really wanted to highlight (Kariko) this year, because the vaccine is a big reason as to why we can hold the art show in the first place,” said 50/50 treasurer, Alexandra Himmel.
Since the show began in 2017, local female artists of high school age and older have displayed their work at the show and raised more than $8,000 for Girls Learn International. This year’s artwork will feature sculptures, quilts, painting and more. The event will include food and entertainment as well as a basket raffle.
To learn more about the art show or how to submit art, visit https://hmhsfeminism.wixsite.com/mysite/blank.
