Opening Reception and Artist Talk with Sara Olshansky and Esther Sitver

Artists Sara Olshansky and Esther Sitver join the Doris Ulmann Galleries staff to discuss their work and the collaborative curatorial process behind the exhibition, Sketch: Contemporary Artists in Conversation with Emily Grace Hanks, which will be open in the Lower Traylor Gallery from October 25 to December 6.

The Berea College Art Collection is home to over 250 artworks by Emily Grace Hanks (American, 1886-1962), an artist, educator, and inventor who specialized in observational drawing, painting, and illustration. Though Hanks or her work isn’t well-known today, her career was extremely multifaceted and provides an excellent case study of the pathways that were available to aspiring women artists during this era. In the summer of 2023, Sara Olshansky and Esther Sitver, two artists from the region who also specialize in observational modes of drawing and painting, were invited to the Doris Ulmann Galleries as part of an extended artist residency. Working alongside the Galleries’ staff, Olsansky and Sitver studied Hanks’ work and archival materials housed in the BCAC and created a series of artworks in response to what they found. The resulting artworks – and the exhibition as a whole – explore the connections that can be made between artists across time and raise questions about what it means to leave an artistic “legacy.” What can we find when we look to the past? What can an archive reveal… and what does it leave obscured? And how can we fill in the gaps?

The reception and artist talk are free and open to the public. No RSVP required. Snacks and light refreshments will be served.