LECTURE AND RECEPTION
JANUARY 10, 2020 AT 5:30 PM

Picturing Paradise is an exhibition that features cuadros which are embroidered and appliquéd fabric pictures created by women of Compacto Humano and Manos Ancashinas, two art cooperatives located in Pamplona Alta, a shantytown situated on the outskirts of Lima, Peru. The exhibition places emphasis on the women as artists and the way their art reflects creativity, resilience, and hope despite the harsh conditions of their lives. It intentionally creates a space where women living on the periphery of society, often silent and invisible, tell their stories and express their visions of a better, more just world.

Picturing Paradise is the result of visits to Pamplona Alta by Rebecca Berru Davis, PhD. It is a shared undertaking with the artists, that incorporates the Peruvian women’s commissioned work and their interpretations, as well as the researcher’s reflections drawn from notes taken in the field. Hopes and Dreams (January 2006) depicts each woman’s personal aspirations for herself, for her family or for the world. Inspirations and Motivations (January 2007) illustrates narratives about each woman’s life and the individuals and the communities that sustain her. ¿Quién soy yo? (Who am I? July 2008), brings to light each woman as an individual and at the same time, the relationships integral to her life. Additional cuadros in the exhibit highlight the memories of the women’s past lives and their present realities. The exhibition project, initiated in 2006 continues.

Picturing Paradise has been exhibited throughout the country (twice in Lima, Peru and in Barcelona, Spain). The women’s words and testimonies through art continue to be documented and additional cuadros are sold as a way to support the women and their family. Support of past exhibitions were made possible with grants from the Luann Dummer Center for Women at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota in 2006, the Society for the Arts and Religion in Theological Studies Luce Fellowship in 2007, Mary’s Pence in 2008 and 2011, Con Vida in 2009 and 2012 and The Margaret Ping Foundation in 2015.

This exhibition is touring the state under the auspices of the Montana Art Gallery Directors Association (MADGA). Traveling exhibitions to Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art are supported in part by the Montana Arts Council, a state agency funded by the State of Montana and the National Endowment for the Arts. Additional funding is provided by museum members and the citizens of Cascade County, and generous support from Montana Federal Credit Union and D.A. Davidson.

Picturing Paradise is showing in The Square’s newly refreshed Community Gallery, thanks to a generous donation from Sherwin Williams Paints of Great Falls.