Category: Visual Arts

Activities of ASWM and its members in the area of the Visual Arts

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Opening: Our International Art Exhibition

“Wisdom Across the Ages: An International Women’s Art Exhibition”

July 7 – December 31 2021

ASWM Online Art Gallery

Association for the Study of Women and Mythology

Artemisia Gentileschi Self Portrait as the Allegory of Painting

We are delighted to announce the opening of our inaugural juried exhibition in ASWM’s new online art gallery. This exhibition of works by 45 artists and filmmakers from around the world was created in concert with our 2021 online symposium, “Wisdom Across the Ages: A Celebration of the Life and Legacy of Archaeomythologist Marija Gimbutas.”

Our organization was founded by women who appreciated the essential role of the arts in developing, promoting, and inspiring scholarship and research.

Patricia Monaghan

Patricia Monaghan was not only the author and editor of many books about goddess scholarship; she was also an internationally recognized poet. Pat’s well-crafted words continue to find their way into performances, ceremonies and women’s life passages. Sid Reger is a visual artist with a happy background in feminist theatre. She has also created and promoted festivals and arts events on local, national, and international stages.

Sid says, “We understood from the beginning that all of the arts were essential sources of inspiration and collaboration for scholarship. Many artists are scholars, and vice versa, and we were always excited to see what happens when they meet in the same room. We were guided by one simple idea: Change the images (or words or dances), and you can change the world.”

Mary B Kelly, 2011 Keynote

We dedicate this exhibition and the gallery itself to our beloved artist-foremothers, Mary B. Kelly and Lydia Ruyle.

 

Lydia Ruyle, Aloha!

 

The exhibition runs from July 7 to December 31 in our gallery and is open to the general public.

Join us for the symposium:

Member Registration

Non-member Registration

To give you plenty of time to view the program at leisure, all sessions will remain available, to those who register, for twelve months following the event.

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“Wisdom Across the Ages” 2021 Symposium To Honor Marija Gimbutas

Wisdom Across the Ages: Celebrating the Centennial of Archaeomythologist Marija Gimbutas

July 16-18, 2021

 Call Deadline: Feb 15, 2021

 

 

Marija Gimbutas

Marija Gimbutas’ pioneering scholarship on the earliest horticultural societies focuses on Old European cultures of Europe and the Mediterranean (6500-3500 BCE).

She founded the field of archaeomythology to investigate beliefs, rituals, symbols, and social structures of these early societies. Archaeomythology is inspiring a new generation of scholars to develop a deeper understanding of past and present earth-based societies.

Our ASWM symposium seeks to expand this understanding by highlighting the voices of First Nations and Indigenous scholars to discuss indigenous, Old European, and other Nature-based cultures.

We are seeking proposals in these topic areas:

  • Women at the Center: Matrifocal, Matristic, Matriarchal Societies
  • Voices from the Land
  • Sacred Human-Animal Relationships

We are also seeking artists’ entries for a juried art exhibit.

 Links to the Calls are on the womenandmyth.org/symposium page.

 

Our 2021 Symposium is presented in cooperation with the Institute of Archaeomythology (IAM). Inspired by the scholarship of Lithuanian-American archaeologist Marija Gimbutas, IAM is an international organization of scholars dedicated to fostering an interdisciplinary approach to cultural research with particular emphasis on the beliefs, rituals, social structure, and symbolism of past and present societies. The Institute encourages dialogue among specialists from diverse fields by sponsoring international symposia, by publishing collected papers and monographs, and by promoting creative collaboration within an atmosphere of mutual support.

The Institute for Archaeomythology

IAM
ASWM’s 2021 Symposium, “Wisdom Across the Ages: Celebrating the Centennial of Archaeomythologist Marija Gimbutas,” is presented in cooperation with the Institute of Archaeomythology (IAM). Inspired by the scholarship of Lithuanian-American archaeologist Marija Gimbutas, IAM is an international organization of scholars dedicated to fostering an interdisciplinary approach to cultural research with particular emphasis on the beliefs, rituals, social structure, and symbolism of past and present societies. The Institute encourages dialogue among specialists from diverse fields by sponsoring international symposia, by publishing collected papers and monographs, and by promoting creative collaboration within an atmosphere of mutual support.
Marija Gimbutas
Background
A visionary scholar, Marija Gimbutas actively encouraged students and colleagues from a variety of fields to examine problems in European prehistory with a more inclusive and interdisciplinary point of view. A major focus of her research centered on the Neolithic cultures of Old Europe and the Indo-European Bronze Age societies that replaced them. She stressed the importance of investigating the enormous changes in beliefs, rituals and social structure that took place as a result of the “collusion of cultures” that took place between c. 4500-2500 BC, during the Indo-Europeanization of Europe, in order to more fully understand subsequent European cultural development. In Gimbutas’s view, this was “one of the most complex and least understood [periods] in prehistory.”
Journal of Archaeomythology
The JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOMYTHOLOGY has been published on a semi-yearly basis since 2005. The Journal is available on an OPEN ACCESS basis. All issues of the Journal are freely available to members and non-members alike. To have full access to all Journal articles, please click here to register for a free account. IAM also publishes collected papers from international symposia and monographs on archaeomythological themes. Learn more at their website. IAM is a membership organization; learn more here.

Auction

We have many talented members. Occasionally ASWM holds art or service auctions.

This December 22nd, 2021 Auction has ended. Congratulations to the lucky winner!

Thank you all for your participation in our Auction Fundraiser. We so appreciate your generosity.  100% of the winning bid provides support for ASWM’s 2021 Symposium.

A very special thanks to Vicki Noble for offering this Motherpeace Tarot Reading opportunity.

Motherpeace Tarot Cards - Chariot
Chariot
Motherpeace Tarot Cards - World
World
Motherpeace Tarot Cards - Judgement
Judgement
Motherpeace Tarot Cards - Crone
Crone
Motherpeace Tarot Cards - Justice
Justice
Motherpeace Tarot Card - High Priestess
High Priestess

Vicki is one of our favorite Foremothers of the Women’s Spirituality Community! Vicki Noble, artist, feminist, scholar, along with Karen Vogel, is creatrix of the MotherPeace Tarot Deck. Vicki offered a one hour Tarot reading to the winner of this fundraising Auction.

Visit VickiNoble.com and Motherpeace.com for more information.

 

2022 ASWM Symposium

 “Hearing the Invisible: Lessons from Sentient Beings and Inter-relational Ecosystems”

ASWM Online Symposium: Sunday, April 10, 2022

DID YOU MISS OUR SYMPOSIUM? You can now purchase recordings for the concert or the whole event–

  • Concert only/General public all recordings  here.  
  • Members sign in and get $50 discount here.  
  • Join/Renew your ASWM membership here.
  • Questions? events @ womenandmyth.  org

“The Caretaker of the Precious” by Denise Kester

SYMPOSIUM DETAILS:

Jane Goodall has pointed out that human global disregard for nature brought on the current pandemic, documenting that mistreatment/exploitation of sentient beings can result in an exponential crisis for the whole planet.

Our 2022 biennial Symposium focuses on meanings found in the relational reality among science, culture, and mythology in regards to animals, the green world, and ecosystems.

With our primary focus on interconnectedness, we feature academic and artistic work that addresses collaborations between humans and other sentient beings, foundational myths about earth’s response to misuse, and scientific solutions to transgressions against the balance of nature. 

Read about Denise Kester and “The Caretaker of the Precious,” the featured artwork for this event.