New exhibition at UCO’s Melton Gallery

The University of Central Oklahoma’s Melton Gallery and School of Design hosted an opening reception for a new exhibition titled “Women’s Rights are Human Rights” on Sept. 16.

Curated by professor Elizabeth Resnick from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design, this exhibition is designed to highlight women, non-binary, gender-nonconforming and genderqueer social justice advocates and fighters of all backgrounds.

Veronica Cianfrano, curator for the Melton Gallery, said there was a very specific reason she jumped at the opportunity to help create this exhibition.

“We wanted specifically to highlight people who do not typically appear in history books. So women of color, LGBTQ individuals, non-binary, gender non-conforming, like these are, these are people who have people who have contributed to gender equity throughout history, but have been largely erased from what we learn,” said Cianfrano.

In addition to large format posters, the exhibition included a zine making station and a zine library where visitors are invited to make small homemade magazines and let their creativity fly.

“Zines, in my lifetime anyway, have been a great way to get your voice heard without having to go through any gatekeepers, without having to be censored. You don’t need much money to make a zine and you can have a very big impact,” Cianfrano said.

The exhibition will be open until November 18th and everyone is encouraged to continue visiting to learn more about it.

“My hope is people come back and stay awhile to give all the information a chance to kind of reach them and sink in,” said Cianfrano.

Cianfrano said she believes the message of this exhibition will lead others to discover their own empowerment.

“It can feel overwhelming when you are oppressed and it can feel like there’s no way out, and it’s just not true. If you keep saying what you believe in and join forces with other people who believe in it too, it’s really empowering to know that that has worked. It has worked and it can work again,” said Cianfrano.