The idea for this exhibition came from Hannah Quigley, an eighth-grade student at Peconic Community School. For her school capstone project, Hannah wanted to highlight two subjects important to her —art and feminism—by curating an exhibition on feminist art. Hannah brought this proposal to us here at the library, where she interned with Sally Grant, the library’s Art Exhibits Curator, to co-curate this large group show.

Passing the Brush: Feminist Art NOW includes thirteen feature artists who work in a range of media. It extends out to the library’s garden, with two sculptures by Arden Scott standing sentinel at the building’s original entrance. The exhibition also includes artworks by Greenport High School students, and a collaborative zine by Peconic Community School Art Collective.

Each of the works on display engages with feminism in different ways, but a uniting theme-reflected in the exhibition title-is the power and possibilities of women supporting and learning from each other. Women’s solidarity is further evident by the many embroidered dusters created by members of our local community for the international Domestic Dusters Project.

The act of multiple voices coming together in pursuit of a common cause has been an essential element in women’s struggle for equality since at least the suffrage movement. Collectivism’s importance for women in the art world is recorded in several documentary displays, as well as in works that reference gathering together, as though around a dinner table.

We hope you join us. For Passing the Brush aims to convey that, for the sake of young people like Hannah and her peers, we should all be feminists!