Women’s march builds momentum at Utah State
By Ford Rasmussen
The energy of the women’s march movement is drawing visitors to the Readymade Gallery at the Cain College of the Arts.
Madeline Walker, a third-year graduate student in sculpture at Utah State, was the lead curator for the new installation. Walker said that she wanted to “continue the momentum of the protests through participant signs, postcards, photos, and clothing.”
“We wanted to give people the opportunity to engage with these topics and take action here in Logan,” Walker said.
According to one of the gallery monitors, Esther Oluwalana, about 60 or 70 people have already been in to see the gallery. Oluwalana still had more posters to put around campus to let people know about it.
Those involved with the project had two weeks to curate the show between the time of the Women’s March on the Utah State Capitol and the opening of the gallery. Putting together a show in such short amount of time is uncommon, but Walker described it as a “great collaboration and process.”
Becky Winstead, a staff assistant at the college, is one of the many people who worked to prepare the gallery. The gallery has been open for only a few days, but Winstead said it has already received a lot more engagement than she expected.
“It’s a very difficult time for a lot of people,” she said. “I think they want to express that.”
There are two portions of the gallery that are interactive: Handmade postcards for Utah residents to get in touch with their congressional representative, and a display where visitors may write down their thoughts about the recent presidential election.
“We want to share this for students to feel empowered and part of the community,” Walker said. “This is intended for people to share the experiences they have had at recent protests to reflect a more common and collective experience.”
The installation is open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. until Friday, Feb. 10.
-Ford Rasmussen
