University of Oregon Students featured in “Don’t Touch My Hair: Expressions of Identity and Community” at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art
EUGENE, Ore. – (February 16, 2018) – The Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art looks at the politics of hair in “Don’t Touch My Hair: Expressions of Identity and Community,” a new exhibition featuring University of Oregon students. Sponsored by the University of Oregon Division of Equity and Inclusion, the exhibition, which features thirty photographs by five student photographers, opens on Friday, February 23, with a curator’s talk at 3 p.m., followed by a reception from 4 to 6 p.m. Both events are free and open to the public.
“Don’t Touch My Hair” is organized by Guest Curator Meredith Lancaster (MA 2015, history of art and architecture), Assistant Curator Kristen Clayton (graduate student, non-profit management), project collaborator Roderick Hall (graduate student, community and regional planning), and photographers Ugochukwu Akabike (sophomore, art, business, psychology), Jasmine Johnson (sophomore, journalism), Malik Lovette (junior, art), Bryan Rodriguez (senior, advertising), and Keith Simms (sophomore).
“The idea for this project came from hair stylist, consultant, and motivational speaker Jeanelle Crouch during a visit to University of Oregon (UO) in 2017,” says Lancaster. “It is a collaborative initiative led by and featuring University of Oregon students and alumni that has received generous support from the UO Division of Equity and Inclusion, Black Women of Achievement, and the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art.”
Hair can be a symbolic site of individuality, conformity, ritual, tradition, memory, emotion, and social affiliations. In a period of two weeks in Winter term, University of Oregon students and staff attended community conversations where they shared their thoughts and experiences regarding the politics of hair and definitions of beauty, racialized beauty standards, cultural influences, societal pressures, personal expressions of identity, and the topic of consent.
Five student photographers met with conversation participants who shared their truths and posed for the camera. The portraits on view are accompanied by the subjects’ words on laminated guides that capture these dynamic interactions and the personal stories of hair.
“This exhibition challenges us all to consider the powerful statements hair can make,” says Lancaster. “In the politically and culturally charged climate we live in, hair--both seen and unseen--can be a tool for resistance and affirmation. “
About the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art
The University of Oregon's Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art is a premier Pacific Northwest museum for exhibitions and collections of historic and contemporary art. The mission of the museum is to enhance the University of Oregon’s academic mission and to further the appreciation and enjoyment of the visual arts for the general public. The JSMA features significant collections galleries devoted to art from China, Japan, Korea, Europe, and the Americas as well as changing special exhibition galleries. The JSMA is one of seven museums—and the only academic art museum-- in Oregon accredited by the American Alliance of Museums.
The Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art is located on the University of Oregon campus at 1430 Johnson Lane. Museum hours are 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesdays, and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursdays through Sundays. Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for senior citizens. Free admission is given to ages 18 and under, JSMA members, college students with ID, and University of Oregon faculty, staff and students. For information, contact the JSMA, 541-346-3027.
Contact: Debbie Williamson Smith, 541-346-0942, debbiews@uoregon.edu
Links: Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, http://jsma.uoregon.edu
