North Dakota Museum of Art Announces New Exhibitions and Opening Reception

Women at War, works by contemporary women artists from Ukraine & Slow Improvisation; a Frame of Mind, by Anne Kingsbury, who will speak at the Opening

The North Dakota Museum of Art is pleased to announce the new exhibition, Women at War, along with an opening reception that includes a talk by Anne Kingsbury, whose exhibition, Slow Improvisations; A Frame of Mind, is currently on display in the Mezzanine Gallery. The public is invited to the reception on Thursday, January 16, 2025, from 4:30 – 6:30 pm at the Museum. Wine and hors d'oeuvres will be served. Parking is free – in front of and adjacent to the Museum. These exhibitions will be on display through March 2025. Women at War is underwritten by the University of North Dakota.

Anne Kingsbury’s Slow Improvisations; A Frame of Mind, consists of a collection of colorful and figurative imagery incorporating complicated beaded work on leather and fabric. With the inclusion of text from personal journals and lists, using feminine imagery of quilts, dolls or potholders, her art production mirrors her life as a woman experiencing the challenges of a many-faceted career. She explains, “In my visual work, I choose projects I can do with my hands rather than have the filter of technology between myself and the material.”

Women at War is a critically acclaimed exhibition that introduces works by contemporary women artists from Ukraine. Featuring an array of media from painting, drawing, collage, sculpture, installation and video, the exhibition has been hailed as a “must see” exhibition and was listed twice on the top ten exhibitions of 2022. Curated by New York-based curator Monika Fabijanska, this exhibition was organized by Fridman Gallery in New York in collaboration with Voloshyn Gallery in Kyiv/Miami.

As Fabijanska explains, “Women at War provides context for the ongoing war, as represented in art across media. Several works in the exhibition were made immediately following February 24, 2022, when Russia began the full-scale invasion of Ukraine; others date from the years of war following the annexation of Crimea and the creation of separatist Donetsk and Luhansk ‘People’s Republics’ in Donbas in 2014.

War is central to history. History has been written (and painted) by men. This exhibition provides a platform for women narrators of history and also examines gendered perspectives of war. Women are generally absent from the historical accounts of war, but violating a woman is seen as a violation of land and nation. Media images reinforce the perception of gender divide. Many artists in this exhibition struggle with the notion of victimhood and pose the question in what way women have intervened and affected society during war.

The exhibition also offers an insight into Ukrainian and other Eastern European feminisms, which are significantly different from the Western mold. It contributes to the discourse about how national identity is tied to the perception of women’s role in society. Parallels are made between the fight for Ukraine’s independence and the fight for the equality of Ukrainian women.

Women at War traveled to the Eastern Connecticut State University; Wesleyan University, CT; Stanford in Washington, D.C., Florida State University Museum of Fine Art in Tallahassee, the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, and the Chicago Cultural Center. The North Dakota Museum of Art is the last stop of the tour.

The North Dakota Museum of Art is located on Centennial Drive in Grand Forks. Museum hours are weekdays 9 am – 5 pm and weekends 1 – 5 pm. The Museum Shop is open during these hours. There is no general admission; however, there is a suggested donation of $5 from adults and change from children. In addition, the Museum Café is open for lunch, weekdays 11 am – 3 pm with Happy Hour 3 – 5 pm. Parking is available in front of the Museum using the Passport parking app with your smartphone or stop in the Museum and we can assist you. All parking is free after 4:30 pm and on weekends. For more information, please call 701-777-4195 or visit www.ndmoa.com.